Tautomerism of anthraquinones: VIII. Tautomerism and conformations of 1,4-diamino-9,10-anthraquinone

The compound widely known as 1,4-diamino-9,10-anthraquinone is in fact an equilibrium mixture of 4,9-diamino-1,10-anthraquinone and tautomeric imino forms, 10-amino-9-hydroxy-1,4-anthraquinone 1-imine and its conformer, and 4-amino-1-hydroxy-9,10-anthraquinone 9-imine or 4,9-dihydroxy-1,10-anthraquinone diimine. Amino-imino tautomerism and rotational isomerism are responsible for fine structure of the π_l,π*-absorption of the title compound.