Please note that the colours on this document are for demonstration purposes only as colours vary with individual monitors and therefore cannot be guaranteed as accurate.

Mordant dyes are those dyes which require a mordant in their application and which upon combination with the mordant deposit insoluble color on the substrate, e.g., dyes with metal chelating groups. Like the name suggests these dyes require a mordant. Mordants are substances of organic or inorganic origin which combine with the coloring matter and are used to fix the same in the production of the color. For the purpose of this class, such materials as oils and sulfonated oils, soaps, fats and higher acids, are not generally considered as mordants, but as coming within the scope of “assistants” in dyeing. The mordant substances include such acids as tannic acid, sumac, gall nuts, bark extracts, oleic and stearic acids, and Turkey red oil; and metallic substances such as various combinations or soluble salts of chromium, aluminum, iron, copper, and tin. The latter, the metallic mordants, are more used than the acid mordants. Mordant improves the fastness of the dye on the fibre such as water, light and perspiration fastness. The choice of mordant is very important as different mordants can change the final colour significantly. Most natural dyes are mordant dyes and there is therefore a large literature base describing dyeing techniques.

Dyes are generally defined along the lines of being coloured, aromatic compounds that can ionise. Although this definition infers that ionic interaction with oppositely charged tissue constituents is the norm, there are exceptions. Some dyes require the presence of a metal to properly develop their colour or staining selectivity. These are termed mordant dyes. The Colour Index uses this as a classification and naming system. Each dye is named according to the pattern: mordant + base colour + number

These dyes are thereby specifically identified as dyes of the stated colour, and whose primary staining mechanism requires the presence of metal atoms. Note that this is a functional and colour classification. It contains no chemical information neither does it imply that dyes with similar names but unique numbers are in any way related. It should also be noted that the classification refers to the primary mechanism of staining. Other mechanisms may also be possible.

The most commonly used mordant dyes have hydroxyl and carboxyl groups and are negatively charged, i.e. anionic. It is convenient to view these as a specialised subgroup of acid dyes. Some other mordant dyes may possess amino groups, and are cationic overall. Despite this, they must still have hydroxyl or carboxyl groups, since lake formation requires it. Mordant dyes can usually stain by ionic interaction in the same way as other ionisable dyes. The colour is often pale, sometimes so pale that the results have no value.

It is often noted that when a mordant dye forms a lake with a metal, there is a strong colour change. This is because metals have low energy atoms. The incorporation of these low energy atoms into the delocalised electron system of the dye causes a bathochromic shift in the absorption. It is this delocalised electron system which is fundamentally responsible for colour in dyes. Since different metal atoms have differing energy levels, the colour of the lakes may also differ.

The most commonly used mordant dye is undoubtedly hematein (natural black 1), whose status as a natural product supercedes its mode of dyeing, apparently. Others are eriochrome cyanine R (mordant blue 3) and celestine blue B (mordant blue 14), both used as substitutes for alum hematoxylin but with a ferric salt as the mordant. Alizarin red S (mordant red 3) is valuable for the demonstration of calcium, particularly in embryo skeletons.