A survey of literature covering the synthesis of xanthene dyes and their applications during the period 2000-2016 is carried out. A comparison of various synthetic strategies in terms of major starting materials and catalysts used has also been presented. Furthermore, a discussion of pH and metal cations detection has been provided for some well known xanthene chromophores and their derivatives. This review aims to examine all the aspects of xanthene scaffold, including some future prospects and further developments in this area.
Keywords: Xanthene Dye, Coumarin, Metal Ion Detector, pH Sensors, NIR absorbing xanthene chromophores, xanthene scaffold.