This new edition of the classical text is thoroughly updated and rewritten, with special attention given to those topic areas that have experienced the most research activity and industrial development since publication of the second edition. An extensive new section devoted to synthetic polyenes developed during the last decade, including poly(p-phenylenevinylenes), that have shown promising electro-optical properties has also be added, while the chapter on aza[18]annulenes is expanded to include improved and sophisticated synthetic approaches to the phthalocyanines and porphyrins, as well as the application of these compounds in functional dyes and pigments. Research and development activities in the discovery of new dyes for coloration is described in the sections on dispersed, reactive, and sulfur dyes, as well as in new chapters covering carbonyl and the diketopyrrolo pyrrole (DPP) family of pigments. Additionally, this edition contains a first review of the limited number of published investigations of black colorants.

A significantly expanded successor to the highly successful second edition, destined to become a classical reference work for researchers in this exciting and important subdiscipline of chemistry.