ABSTRACT
Although uorescent whitening agents (FWAs) have only been developed and marketed on a large scale since the past 60 years, their scienti c history dates back to more than 200 years. FWAs have also been referred to as opticals, optical dyes, optical bleaching agents, optical bleaches, optical brightening agents, optical brighteners, uorescent bleaching agents, uorescent brighteners, uorescent whiteners, uorescers, or just brighteners.
