Sodium carbonate peroxide (CAS: 15630-89-4)

Sodium percarbonate is a chemical, an adduct of sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide (a perhydrate), with formula 2Na2CO3 • 3H2O2. It is a colorless, crystalline, hygroscopic and water-soluble solid. It is used in some eco-friendly cleaning products and as a laboratory source ofanhydrous hydrogen peroxide.

This product contains the carbonate anion, and should not be confused with sodium peroxocarbonate Na2CO4 or peroxodicarbonate Na2C2O6, which contain different anions.Structure.

At room temperature, solid sodium percarbonate has the orthorhombic crystal structure, with the Cmca crystallographic space group. The structure changes to Pbca as the crystals are cooled below about −30 °C.

Production

Sodium percarbonate is produced industrially by reaction of sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide, followed by crystallization. Also, dry sodium carbonate may be treated directly with concentrated hydrogen peroxide solution. World production capacity of this compound was estimated at several hundred thousand tonnes for 2004. It can be obtained in the laboratory by treating the two substances in aqueous solution with proper control of the pH or concentrations.

Uses

As an oxidizing agent, sodium percarbonate is an ingredient in a number of home and laundry cleaning products, including non-chlorine bleach products such as OxiClean, Tide laundry detergent, and Vanish. Dissolved in water, it yields a mixture of hydrogen peroxide (which eventually decomposes to water and oxygen) and sodium carbonate (“soda ash”).

2Na2CO3.3H2O2 → 2Na2CO3 + 3H2O2

Sodium percarbonate can be used in organic synthesis as a convenient source of anhydrous H2O2, in particular in solvents that cannot dissolve the carbonate but can leach the H2O2 out of it.