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Indigo is obtained from the leaves of several plants in the genus Indigofera, and the first synthetic indigo dye was made by German chemist Adolf von Baeyer in 1878:
Vat dyes such as indigo are insoluble in water but dissolve upon reduction with sodium dithionite (Na2S2O4) under basic conditions...the reduced dye, called the leuco form, is soluble in water and is applied to the fiber by immersion
Upon drying and exposure to atmospheric oxygen, the dye is re-oxidized and acquires its original color
(a) synthesis of blue indigo and (b) reduction to leuco-indigo
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