Sodium percarbonate

Key takeaways

Sodium percarbonate belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sodium percarbonate to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sodium percarbonate from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sodium percarbonate or sodium carbonate peroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula 2 Na2CO3 · 3 H2O2. It is an addition compound, specifically a co-crystal, formed by sodium carbonate ("soda ash" or "washing soda") and hydrogen peroxide (that is, a perhydrate). It is a colorless, crystalline, hygroscopic, 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 bleaches and other cleaning products.

History Sodium percarbonate was first prepared in 1899 by the Russian chemist Sebastian Moiseevich Tanatar (7 October 1849 – 30 November 1917).

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 (−22 °F).

Chemistry Dissolved in water, sodium percarbonate yields a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, sodium cations (Na+), and carbonate (CO2−3).

2 Na 2 CO 3 ⋅ 3 H 2 O 2 ⟶ 3 H 2 O 2 + 4 Na + + 2 CO 3 2 − {\displaystyle {\ce {2 Na2CO3*3 H2O2 -> 3 H2O2 + 4 Na+ + 2 CO3^2-}}}

Production Sodium percarbonate is produced industrially by crystallization of a solution of sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide, with attention to the pH and concentrations. This method is also convenient for the laboratory preparation. Alternatively, dry sodium carbonate may be treated directly with concentrated hydrogen peroxide solution. World production capacity of this compound was estimated at several hundred thousand tons for 2004.

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 Oxyper, OxiClean, Tide laundry detergent, and 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. 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. A method for generating trifluoroperacetic acid in situ for use in Baeyer–Villiger oxidations from sodium percarbonate and trifluoroacetic anhydride 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

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sodium percarbonate

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sodium percarbonate claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sodium percarbonate before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sodium percarbonate ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sodium percarbonate

In research: Sodium percarbonate appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sodium percarbonate in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sodium percarbonate is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Antiseptics, Bleaches, Carbonates, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sodium percarbonate outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Sodium percarbonate in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sodium percarbonate means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sodium percarbonate out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sodium percarbonate in simple terms?

Sodium percarbonate or sodium carbonate peroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula 2 Na2CO3 · 3 H2O2. It is an addition compound, specifically a co-crystal, formed by sodium carbonate ("soda ash" or "washing soda") and hydrogen peroxide (that is, a perhydrate).

Why does Sodium percarbonate matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sodium percarbonate?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sodium percarbonate.