An air freshener and a method of making the same

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of daily chemical products, and discloses an air freshener and a preparation method thereof, the air freshener comprising deionized water, plant extract, plant essential oil, cocamide propyl betaine, propylene glycol, citric acid, modified plant skin and an auxiliary agent; the auxiliary agent is prepared by chlorination, quaternization and mercaptoethylamine graft modification of cellulose. During preparation, a water phase system is first formed, then the plant extract is dispersed, subsequently the plant essential oil and a surfactant are added for emulsification, finally the modified plant skin and the auxiliary agent are added for mixing and filtration to obtain the product. The obtained air freshener can improve the dispersion stability of the plant essential oil, and can synergistically adsorb and complex odor molecules through the modified plant skin and the functionalized cellulose auxiliary agent, so that the air freshener has the advantages of good deodorizing effect, relatively long lingering fragrance, low irritation and good environmental protection.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of daily chemical products technology, specifically to an air freshener and its preparation method. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, most air fresheners on the market that use natural plant extracts rely on physical adsorption or simply masking odors with fragrance. Indoor air odors mainly originate from human metabolism, cooking fumes, pet excrement, harmful gases released from building materials, and the growth of bacteria and mold. Traditional air fresheners are mostly made with synthetic fragrances and organic solvents; their working principle is merely to mask odors with a strong scent, rather than actually removing the odor molecules.

[0003] Furthermore, the large amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in traditional air fresheners can damage the human respiratory and nervous systems, and long-term use may trigger allergies, asthma, and other diseases. Some inferior products even contain carcinogens such as formaldehyde and benzene, seriously threatening human health. At the same time, these synthetic components are difficult to biodegrade, causing secondary pollution to the environment.

[0004] In recent years, although some air fresheners made from natural plant extracts have emerged, most suffer from problems such as weak odor decomposition ability, short fragrance duration, and poor stability. Therefore, developing an air freshener that can effectively decompose odors and harmful gases while being safe, environmentally friendly, and having a long-lasting fragrance is of significant practical importance. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In order to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art, the present invention aims to provide an air freshener and its preparation method, which has good deodorizing and antibacterial effects.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: an air freshener comprising the following weight components: 60-75 parts by weight of deionized water, 5-8 parts by weight of plant extract, 1-2 parts by weight of cocamidopropyl betaine, 0.2-0.5 parts by weight of propylene glycol, 0.1-0.2 parts by weight of citric acid, 1-2 parts by weight of modified plant skin, and 0.8-1.5 parts by weight of additives.

[0007] Furthermore, the plant extract is one of honeysuckle extract and peppermint extract.

[0008] Furthermore, the plant essential oil is one of lemon essential oil, peppermint essential oil, and tea tree essential oil.

[0009] Furthermore, the preparation method of the auxiliary agent is as follows: S1. Add 2-chloroethyl isocyanate to the cellulose solution and react at 75-80℃ for 16-22h. After the reaction is completed, cool to room temperature, precipitate the product with pure water, grind the precipitate, filter, wash three times with water, filter again, and dry to obtain chlorocellulose. S2. Add chlorocellulose to dimethyl sulfoxide solvent, stir and mix, continue to add dimethylamine ethyl methacrylate, react at 80-90℃ for 4-6h, after which ethyl acetate is used to precipitate, filter and wash, and place the obtained solid in a vacuum drying oven to dry to remove residual solvent, to obtain alkenyl quaternized cellulose; S3. Add alkenyl quaternized cellulose to dimethyl sulfoxide solvent, stir and disperse, then add mercaptoethylamine and benzoin dimethyl ether photoinitiator, irradiate with 365nm ultraviolet light at 20-30℃ for 2-4 hours, centrifuge after the irradiation, wash and dry to obtain the auxiliary agent.

[0010] Furthermore, in S1, the mass ratio of cellulose solution to 2-chloroethyl isocyanate is 1:1.2-1.5.

[0011] Furthermore, in S2, the mass ratio of chlorocellulose to dimethylamine ethyl methacrylate is 1:1.4-1.8.

[0012] Furthermore, in S3, the mass ratio of alkenyl quaternized cellulose, mercaptoethylamine, and benzoin dimethyl ether photoinitiator is 1:0.3-0.4:0.01-0.02.

[0013] Furthermore, the air freshener is prepared by: (1) Mix deionized water, propylene glycol and citric acid, and stir at 25-30℃ for 10-15 min to obtain an aqueous phase system; (2) Add the plant extract to the aqueous system and continue stirring to disperse, to obtain a plant extract dispersion; (3) After mixing the plant essential oil with cocamidopropyl betaine, add it to the plant extract dispersion, stir and emulsify at a speed of 800-1500 r / min for 20-40 min to obtain the emulsified system; (4) Add modified plant skin and additives to the emulsion system, continue stirring for 20-30 minutes, filter, and obtain air freshener.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial technical effects: This invention uses plant extracts and essential oils as the main scent-regulating ingredients, which can avoid the odor irritation problem caused by traditional air fresheners that rely heavily on artificial fragrances. Plant active ingredients such as honeysuckle extract and peppermint extract can be combined with lemon essential oil, peppermint essential oil or tea tree essential oil to release a more natural and refreshing scent, so that the product can improve the air odor while also providing better user comfort.

[0015] This invention incorporates modified plant bark. After alkali treatment, the surface structure of the plant bark is opened, increasing porosity and active sites. Further modification with thioglycolic acid introduces functional groups containing sulfur and carboxyl groups, enhancing its adsorption and binding capacity for ammonia, amine, and sulfide odors, as well as some volatile small molecules. This allows the air freshener to not only mask odors with fragrance but also to actually adsorb and weaken odor molecules. The additives used in this invention use cellulose as a backbone, which, after modification with 2-chloroethyl isocyanate, further introduce quaternary ammonium salt and amino structures. This gives the additives good hydrophilic dispersibility, adsorption, and antibacterial auxiliary effects. The quaternary ammonium salt structure is beneficial for improving the binding capacity to negatively charged or polar odor molecules, while the amino structure can interact with acidic odor components, thereby enhancing the air freshener's effect on treating complex odors.

[0016] Furthermore, the modified plant bark and cellulose-based additives in this invention are derived from natural or renewable materials, and have the characteristics of low cost, wide availability, and environmental friendliness. When used in conjunction with plant extracts and plant essential oils, they can achieve deodorization, fragrance retention, stability, and safety and environmental protection performance, making them suitable for various daily air freshening scenarios such as homes, offices, cars, and bathrooms. Detailed Implementation

[0017] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are described clearly and completely. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0018] Microcrystalline cellulose: degree of polymerization 240, Aladdin.

[0019] Preparation of cellulose solution: 10g of dried 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride was added to a 100ml two-necked flask, followed by 0.5g of microcrystalline cellulose. The mixture was mechanically stirred at 80℃ for 2h to obtain a homogeneous transparent cellulose solution.

[0020] Preparation of modified plant bark: 1. Wash 40g of grapefruit peel, 40g of apple peel, and 40g of sycamore leaves with tap water and distilled water, dry them at 75℃ until constant weight, crush them, and pass them through a sieve with a pore size of 420μm to obtain mixed plant peel; mix 100g of mixed plant peel with 250mL of anhydrous ethanol, 120mL of 0.5mol / L sodium hydroxide solution, and 120mL of water, soak and stir for 20h, wash with distilled water until neutral, centrifuge and dry to obtain pretreated plant peel; 2. Add 8g of mercaptoacetic acid to 170mL of anhydrous ethanol solution and 0.5mL of concentrated sulfuric acid, then add 60g of pretreated plant skin, soak, stir for 20h, and wash with distilled water until neutral to obtain modified plant skin.

[0021] Preparation of honeysuckle extract: After pulverizing dried honeysuckle, add 10 times the amount of 60% ethanol solution and reflux extract twice at 70℃ for 1.5h each time. Filter and combine the filtrates. Concentrate the filtrate under reduced pressure, recover the ethanol, dry under vacuum at 55℃, pulverize and sieve to obtain honeysuckle extract.

[0022] Preparation of peppermint extract: Take dried peppermint leaves, crush them, add 8 times the amount of 70% ethanol solution, and reflux extract twice at 50℃ for 1 hour each time. Filter and combine the extracts. Concentrate the extract under reduced pressure at 45℃, then vacuum dry, crush and sieve to obtain peppermint extract.

[0023] Example 1 This embodiment provides an air freshener comprising the following raw materials in parts by weight: 60 parts deionized water, 5 parts honeysuckle extract, 1 part cocamidopropyl betaine, 0.2 parts propylene glycol, 0.1 parts citric acid, 0.5 parts lemon essential oil, 1 part modified plant peel, and 0.8 parts additives.

[0024] The preparation method of the auxiliary agent is as follows: S1. Take 10g of cellulose solution and add it to the reaction vessel. Add 12g of 2-chloroethyl isocyanate to it and stir the reaction at 75℃ for 16h. After the reaction is completed, cool to room temperature, precipitate the product with pure water, crush the precipitate, filter it, wash it with water three times, filter it again, and dry it to obtain chlorinated cellulose. S2. Take 5g of chlorocellulose and add it to 50mL of dimethyl sulfoxide. Stir and mix evenly. Then add 7g of dimethylamine ethyl methacrylate and react at 80℃ for 4h. After the reaction is complete, precipitate with ethyl acetate, filter and wash. Place the obtained solid in a vacuum drying oven to dry to remove residual solvent and obtain alkenyl quaternized cellulose. S3. Take 5g of alkenyl quaternized cellulose and add it to 50mL of dimethyl sulfoxide. Stir and disperse, then add 1.5g of mercaptoethylamine and 0.05g of benzoin dimethyl ether photoinitiator. Irradiate with 365nm ultraviolet light at 20℃ for 2h. After the reaction is completed, centrifuge, wash and dry to obtain the auxiliary agent.

[0025] The air freshener is prepared as follows: (1) Add 60 parts of deionized water, 0.2 parts of propylene glycol and 0.1 parts of citric acid to a stirring container and stir at 25°C for 10 min to obtain an aqueous phase system; (2) Add 5 parts of honeysuckle extract to the aqueous system and continue stirring to disperse, to obtain a plant extract dispersion; (3) After premixing 0.5 parts of lemon essential oil with 1 part of cocamidopropyl betaine, add it to the plant extract dispersion and stir emulsify at 800 r / min for 20 min to obtain the emulsion system; (4) Add 1 part modified plant skin and 0.8 parts additive to the emulsion system, continue stirring for 20 minutes, filter, and obtain air freshener.

[0026] Example 2 This embodiment provides an air freshener comprising the following raw materials in parts by weight: 68 parts deionized water, 6.5 parts peppermint extract, 1.5 parts cocamidopropyl betaine, 0.35 parts propylene glycol, 0.15 parts citric acid, 0.8 parts peppermint essential oil, 1.5 parts modified plant skin, and 1.1 parts additives.

[0027] The preparation method of the auxiliary agent is as follows: S1. Take 10g of cellulose solution and add it to the reaction vessel. Add 13.5g of 2-chloroethyl isocyanate to it and stir the reaction at 78℃ for 19h. After the reaction is completed, cool to room temperature, precipitate the product with pure water, crush the precipitate, filter it, wash it with water three times, filter it again, and dry it to obtain chlorinated cellulose. S2. Take 5g of chlorocellulose and add it to 50mL of dimethyl sulfoxide. Stir and mix evenly. Then add 8g of dimethylamine ethyl methacrylate and react at 85℃ for 5h. After the reaction is complete, precipitate with ethyl acetate, filter and wash. Place the obtained solid in a vacuum drying oven to dry to remove residual solvent and obtain alkenyl quaternized cellulose. S3. Take 5g of alkenyl quaternized cellulose and add it to 50mL of dimethyl sulfoxide. Stir and disperse, then add 1.75g ​​of mercaptoethylamine and 0.075g of benzoin dimethyl ether photoinitiator. Irradiate with 365nm ultraviolet light at 25℃ for 3h. After the reaction is completed, centrifuge, wash and dry to obtain the auxiliary agent.

[0028] The air freshener is prepared as follows: (1) Add 68 parts of deionized water, 0.35 parts of propylene glycol and 0.15 parts of citric acid to a stirring container and stir at 28°C for 12 min to obtain an aqueous phase system; (2) Add 6.5 parts of peppermint extract to the aqueous system and continue stirring to disperse, to obtain a plant extract dispersion; (3) After premixing 0.8 parts of peppermint essential oil with 1.5 parts of cocamidopropyl betaine, add it to the plant extract dispersion and stir emulsify at 1200 r / min for 30 min to obtain the emulsion system; (4) Add 1.5 parts of modified plant skin and 1.1 parts of additive to the emulsion system, continue stirring for 25 minutes, filter, and obtain air freshener.

[0029] Example 3 This embodiment provides an air freshener comprising the following raw materials in parts by weight: 75 parts deionized water, 8 parts honeysuckle extract, 2 parts cocamidopropyl betaine, 0.5 parts propylene glycol, 0.2 parts citric acid, 1 part tea tree oil, 2 parts modified plant bark, and 1.5 parts additives.

[0030] The preparation method of the auxiliary agent is as follows: S1. Take 10g of cellulose solution and add it to the reaction vessel. Add 15g of 2-chloroethyl isocyanate to it and stir the reaction at 80℃ for 22h. After the reaction is completed, cool to room temperature, precipitate the product with pure water, crush the precipitate, filter it, wash it with water three times, filter it again, and dry it to obtain chlorinated cellulose. S2. Take 5g of chlorocellulose and add it to 50mL of dimethyl sulfoxide. Stir and mix evenly. Then add 9g of dimethylamine ethyl methacrylate and react at 90℃ for 6h. After the reaction is complete, precipitate with ethyl acetate, filter and wash. Place the obtained solid in a vacuum drying oven to dry to remove residual solvent and obtain alkenyl quaternized cellulose. S3. Take 5g of alkenyl quaternized cellulose and add it to 50mL of dimethyl sulfoxide. Stir and disperse, then add 2g of mercaptoethylamine and 0.1g of benzoin dimethyl ether photoinitiator. Irradiate with 365nm ultraviolet light at 30℃ for 4h. After the reaction is completed, centrifuge, wash and dry to obtain the auxiliary agent.

[0031] The air freshener is prepared as follows: (1) Add 75 parts of deionized water, 0.5 parts of propylene glycol and 0.2 parts of citric acid to a stirring container and stir at 30°C for 15 min to obtain an aqueous phase system; (2) Add 8 parts of honeysuckle extract to the aqueous system and continue stirring to disperse, to obtain a plant extract dispersion; (3) After premixing 1 part of tea tree essential oil with 2 parts of cocamidopropyl betaine, add it to the plant extract dispersion and stir emulsify at 1500 r / min for 40 min to obtain the emulsion system; (4) Add 2 parts of modified plant skin and 1.5 parts of additive to the emulsion system, continue stirring for 30 minutes, filter, and obtain air freshener.

[0032] Comparative Example 1 The difference between this comparative example and Example 3 is that microcrystalline cellulose is used instead of the auxiliary agent, while the composition, amount and preparation method of the other raw materials are the same as those in Example 3.

[0033] Comparative Example 2 The difference between this comparative example and Example 3 is that unmodified plant skin is used instead of modified plant skin, while the composition, amount and preparation method of other raw materials are the same as in Example 3.

[0034] Specifically, this comparative example provides an air freshener comprising the following raw materials in parts by weight: 75 parts deionized water, 8 parts honeysuckle extract, 2 parts cocamidopropyl betaine, 0.5 parts propylene glycol, 0.2 parts citric acid, 1 part tea tree oil, 2 parts unmodified plant bark, and 1.5 parts additives.

[0035] The method for preparing the unmodified plant peel is as follows: grapefruit peel, apple peel, and sycamore leaves are washed with tap water and distilled water, dried at 75°C until constant weight, crushed, and passed through a sieve with a pore size of 420μm to obtain unmodified plant peel.

[0036] Performance testing To verify the effectiveness of the air freshener of the present invention, the air fresheners prepared in Examples 1-3 and Comparative Examples 1-2 were tested for deodorization and antibacterial properties.

[0037] 1. Odor removal performance test Test Method: Air fresheners prepared in Examples 1-3 and Comparative Examples 1-2 were taken and placed into spray bottles. Five sealed test chambers with a volume of 1 m³ were used. A mixture of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and acetic acid was introduced into each chamber to maintain a consistent initial odor concentration. The initial concentrations of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and acetic acid were 20 mg / m³, 5 mg / m³, and 15 mg / m³, respectively. Then, 2 mL of the tested air freshener was sprayed evenly into each chamber. After sealing and allowing to stand for 60 minutes, the residual odor concentration was measured, and the deodorization rate was calculated using the following formula: Odor removal rate / % = (C0 - C1) / C0 × 100% In the formula: C0 is the initial concentration of odor gas before spraying; C1 is the residual concentration of odor gas 60 minutes after spraying.

[0038] Table 1: Odor Removal Test 2. Antibacterial performance test Test method: Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were used as test strains. The concentration of the bacterial suspension was adjusted to approximately 1 × 10⁻⁶. 6 CFU / mL, the air freshener and bacterial suspension were mixed at a 1:1 volume ratio, incubated for 30 min, then serially diluted and plated for incubation. After incubation at 37℃ for 24 h, colony counts were performed. The bacterial suspension without air freshener was used as a blank control. The inhibition rate was calculated using the following formula: Antibacterial rate / % = (N0-N1) / N0 × 100% In the formula: N0 is the number of colonies in the blank control group; N1 is the number of colonies in the sample treatment group.

[0039] Table 2: Antibacterial Test 3. Fragrance retention performance test Test Method: 2 mL of the air fresheners prepared in Examples 1-3 and Comparative Examples 1-2 were sprayed into a 1 m³ sealed test chamber and placed at 25°C and 50% relative humidity. Sensory evaluation was conducted by five evaluators at 0 h, 4 h, 8 h, and 12 h after spraying, scoring according to fragrance intensity. The scoring criteria were: 5 points for a noticeable and comfortable fragrance; 4 points for a relatively noticeable fragrance; 3 points for a fragrance still detectable; 2 points for a weak fragrance; and 1 point for virtually no fragrance. The average score from the five evaluators was taken as the test result.

[0040] Table 3: Fragrance Retention Test As shown in Tables 1-3, the odor removal performance results in Table 1 indicate that Examples 1-3 all exhibited high removal rates for ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and acetic acid, with the overall removal rate remaining between 88.7% and 92.7%. Among them, Example 3 showed the best overall effect. Compared with Comparative Examples 1 and 2, the odor removal rate of Example 3 was significantly improved, indicating that the modified plant peel in this invention can enhance the adsorption and binding capacity of odor molecules, and the functionalized cellulose adjuvant can further improve the treatment effect on acidic, alkaline, and sulfur-containing odor components. The combination of the two allows the air freshener to no longer rely solely on fragrance to mask odors, but to achieve a better actual odor removal effect.

[0041] Tables 2 and 3 show that Examples 1-3 also exhibit good antibacterial and fragrance retention properties. Example 3 showed inhibition rates of 96.1% against Escherichia coli and 97.3% against Staphylococcus aureus, and its fragrance score remained at 2.9 after 12 hours, both superior to the comparative examples. Comparative Example 1, using ordinary microcrystalline cellulose, showed a significant decrease in antibacterial and fragrance retention effects; Comparative Example 2, using unmodified plant bark, also performed worse than the examples. This indicates that the quaternary ammonium salts, amino groups, and other functional structures in the additives, as well as the porous adsorption structure of the modified plant bark, all have positive effects on antibacterial activity, stabilizing essential oil dispersion, and prolonging fragrance release.

[0042] It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Unless otherwise specified, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0043] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and are not intended to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. An air freshener, characterized in that, It comprises the following components by weight: 60-75 parts by weight of deionized water, 5-8 parts by weight of plant extracts, 0.5-1 parts by weight of plant essential oils, 1-2 parts by weight of cocamidopropyl betaine, 0.2-0.5 parts by weight of propylene glycol, 0.1-0.2 parts by weight of citric acid, 1-2 parts by weight of modified plant skin, and 0.8-1.5 parts by weight of adjuvants; The modified plant peel is prepared by sequentially treating a mixture of grapefruit peel, apple peel and sycamore leaves with alkaline solution and then modifying it by esterification with thioglycolic acid. The additive is a cellulose-based additive that is sequentially modified by grafting with 2-chloroethyl isocyanate, quaternizing with dimethylamine ethyl methacrylate, and photoinitiated grafting with mercaptoethylamine.

2. The air freshener according to claim 1, characterized in that, The plant extract is one of honeysuckle extract and peppermint extract.

3. The air freshener according to claim 1, characterized in that, The plant essential oil is one of lemon essential oil, peppermint essential oil, or tea tree essential oil.

4. The air freshener according to claim 1, characterized in that, The preparation method of the auxiliary agent is as follows: S1. Add 2-chloroethyl isocyanate to the cellulose solution and react at 75-80℃ for 16-22h. After the reaction is completed, cool to room temperature, precipitate the product with pure water, grind the precipitate, filter, wash three times with water, filter again, and dry to obtain chlorocellulose. S2. Add chlorocellulose to dimethyl sulfoxide solvent, stir and mix, continue to add dimethylamine ethyl methacrylate, react at 80-90℃ for 4-6h, after which ethyl acetate is used to precipitate, filter and wash, and place the obtained solid in a vacuum drying oven to dry to remove residual solvent, to obtain alkenyl quaternized cellulose; S3. Add alkenyl quaternized cellulose to dimethyl sulfoxide solvent, stir and disperse, then add mercaptoethylamine and benzoin dimethyl ether photoinitiator, irradiate with 365nm ultraviolet light at 20-30℃ for 2-4 hours, centrifuge after the irradiation, wash and dry to obtain the auxiliary agent.

5. The air freshener according to claim 4, characterized in that, In S1, the mass ratio of cellulose solution to 2-chloroethyl isocyanate is 1:1.2-1.

5.

6. The air freshener according to claim 4, characterized in that, In S2, the mass ratio of chlorocellulose to dimethylamine ethyl methacrylate is 1:1.4-1.

8.

7. The air freshener according to claim 4, characterized in that, In S3, the mass ratio of alkenyl quaternized cellulose, mercaptoethylamine, and benzoin dimethyl ether photoinitiator is 1:0.3-0.4:0.01-0.

02.

8. A method for preparing an air freshener as described in any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The air freshener is prepared by: (1) Mix deionized water, propylene glycol and citric acid, and stir at 25-30℃ for 10-15 min to obtain an aqueous phase system; (2) Add the plant extract to the aqueous system and continue stirring to disperse, to obtain a plant extract dispersion; (3) After mixing the plant essential oil with cocamidopropyl betaine, add it to the plant extract dispersion, stir and emulsify at a speed of 800-1500 r / min for 20-40 min to obtain the emulsified system; (4) Add modified plant skin and additives to the emulsion system, continue stirring for 20-30 minutes, filter, and obtain air freshener.

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