Health Dictionary
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Sodium percarbonate
Introduction
Sodium percarbonate is a white crystalline water-soluble chemical compound of sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide. It is an oxidizing agent and ingredient in a number of home and laundry cleaning products. Despite the name it is in fact a carbonate perhydrate. Dissolved in water, it releases H2O2 and soda ash (sodium carbonate):
- <math> [Na_2CO_3]_2 \cdot 3H_2O_2 \rightarrow 2Na_2CO_3 + 3H_2O_2 </math>
Sodium percarbonate is the active ingredient in many powdered oxygen bleach products [1].