Sodium percarbonate is a

chemical substance A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wit ...

with formula . It is an

adduct An adduct (from the Latin ''adductus'', "drawn toward" alternatively, a contraction of "addition product") is a product of a direct addition of two or more distinct molecules, resulting in a single reaction product containing all atoms of all co ...

of sodium carbonate ("soda ash" or "washing soda") and

hydrogen peroxide Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound with the formula . In its pure form, it is a very pale blue liquid that is slightly more viscous than water. It is used as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic, usually as a dilute solution (3%–6 ...

(that is, a perhydrate) whose formula is more properly written as 2 · 3 . It is a colorless, crystalline,

hygroscopic Hygroscopy is the phenomenon of attracting and holding water molecules via either absorption or adsorption from the surrounding environment, which is usually at normal or room temperature. If water molecules become suspended among the substance ...

and water-soluble solid. It is sometimes abbreviated as SPC. It contains 32.5% by weight of hydrogen peroxide. The product is used in some

eco-friendly Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that clai ...

bleach Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color (whitening) from a fabric or fiber or to clean or to remove stains in a process called bleaching. It often refers specifically, to ...

es and other

cleaning product Cleaning agents or hard-surface cleaners are substances (usually liquids, powders, sprays, or granules) used to remove dirt, including dust, stains, bad smells, and clutter on surfaces. Purposes of cleaning agents include health, beauty, removing ...

s itation needed

History

Sodium percarbonate was first prepared in 1899 by

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries * Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and p ...

chemist Sebastian Moiseevich Tanatar (7 October 1849 – 30 November 1917).

Structure

At room temperature, solid sodium percarbonate has the

orthorhombic In crystallography, the orthorhombic crystal system is one of the 7 crystal systems. Orthorhombic lattices result from stretching a cubic lattice along two of its orthogonal pairs by two different factors, resulting in a rectangular prism with ...

crystal structure, with the ''Cmca'' crystallographic

space group In mathematics, physics and chemistry, a space group is the symmetry group of an object in space, usually in three dimensions. The elements of a space group (its symmetry operations) are the rigid transformations of an object that leave it unch ...

. The structure changes to ''Pbca'' as the crystals are cooled below about −30 °C.

Chemistry

Dissolved in water, sodium percarbonate yields a mixture of hydrogen peroxide (which eventually decomposes to water and

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as well ...

sodium Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable is ...

cation An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conven ...

s , and

carbonate A carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid (H2CO3), characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula . The word ''carbonate'' may also refer to a carbonate ester, an organic compound containing the carbonate g ...

. : 2Na2CO3*3H2O2 -> 3H2O2 + 4Na+ + 2CO3^2- : 2H2O2 -> 2H2O + O2

Production

Sodium percarbonate is produced industrially by crystallization of a solution of sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide, with proper control of the pH and concentrations.J. M. Adams and R. G. Pritchard (1977): "The crystal structure of sodium percarbonate: an unusual layered solid". ''Acta Crystallographica Section B'', volume B33, issue 12, pages 3650–3653. Alun P. James, Graham R. Horne, Richard Roesler, and others (1997):
Process for producing sodium percarbonate
. US Patent US6231828B1, priority date 1997-03-26. This is also a convenient laboratory method. Alternatively, dry sodium carbonate may be treated directly with concentrated hydrogen peroxide solution.Sang Ryul Kim, Chong Yun Kwag, Hwan Kee Heo, Jong-Pill Lee (1996):
Process for manufacturing granular sodium percarbonate
. US Patent US5851420A, priority date 1996-02-29 It may also be formed from a process starting from sodium peroxide; when absolute ethyl alcohol reacts with sodium peroxide at 0°C, a perhydroxide is produced. : + → O:NaOH + . Carbon dioxide converts it into sodium hydrogen percarbonate. World production capacity of this compound was estimated at several hundred thousand tons for 2004.

Uses

As an

oxidizing agent An oxidizing agent (also known as an oxidant, oxidizer, electron recipient, or electron acceptor) is a substance in a redox chemical reaction that gains or " accepts"/"receives" an electron from a (called the , , or ). In other words, an oxid ...

, sodium percarbonate is an ingredient in a number of home and laundry cleaning products, including non-chlorine

products such as

Oxyper Oxyper is a Solvay coated and stabilised sodium carbonate peroxyhydrate (or sodium percarbonate) which combines the properties of sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide. It is an odorless, crystalline, white powder used, when dissolved in water ...

OxiClean OxiClean is an American brand of household cleaners, including OxiClean Versatile Stain Remover, which is a laundry additive, spot stain remover, and household cleaner marketed by Church & Dwight. It was formerly owned by Orange Glo Internation ...

, Tide laundry detergent, and Vanish.Oxygen-based bleaches
", The

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society ( professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Royal Instit ...

, and

Reckitt Benckiser Reckitt Benckiser Group plc, trading as Reckitt, is a British multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Slough, England. It is a producer of health, hygiene and nutrition products. The company was formed in March 1999 by the merg ...

(the manufacturers of Vanish). Many commercial products mix a percentage of sodium percarbonate with sodium carbonate. The average "Oxy" product in the supermarket contains 35–40% sodium percarbonate with about 5% active oxygen when titrated. Sodium percarbonate is also used as a cleaning agent in

homebrewing Homebrewing is the brewing of beer or other alcoholic beverages on a small scale for personal, non-commercial purposes. Supplies, such as kits and fermentation tanks, can be purchased locally at specialty stores or online. Beer was brewed d ...

. Sodium percarbonate can be used in

organic synthesis Organic synthesis is a special branch of chemical synthesis and is concerned with the intentional construction of organic compounds. Organic molecules are often more complex than inorganic compounds, and their synthesis has developed into one o ...

as a convenient source of anhydrous H₂O₂, in particular in solvents that cannot dissolve the carbonate but can leach the H₂O₂ out of it. A method for generating

trifluoroperacetic acid Trifluoroperacetic acid (trifluoroperoxyacetic acid, TFPAA) is an organofluorine compound, the peroxy acid analog of trifluoroacetic acid, with the condensed structural formula . It is a strong oxidizing agent for organic oxidation reactions, suc ...

''in situ'' for use in

Baeyer–Villiger oxidation The Baeyer–Villiger oxidation is an organic reaction that forms an ester from a ketone or a lactone from a cyclic ketone, using peroxyacids or peroxides as the oxidant. The reaction is named after Adolf von Baeyer and Victor Villiger who first ...

s from sodium percarbonate and

trifluoroacetic anhydride Trifluoroacetic anhydride (TFAA) is the acid anhydride of trifluoroacetic acid. It is the perfluorinated derivative of acetic anhydride. Preparation Trifluoroacetic anhydride was originally prepared by the dehydration of trifluoroacetic acid with ...

has been reported; it provides a convenient and cheap approach to this reagent without the need to obtain highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide.

References

External links

Organic Chemistry Portal: Sodium percarbonate

Consumer Product Information Database: Sodium percarbonate
{{sodium compounds Sodium compounds Hydrogen peroxide Carbonates Cleaning product components Antiseptics Bleaches Oxidizing agents