Leuco Colorant Stability in Laundry Care via Composite Antioxidants
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing liquid laundry care compositions face challenges in controlling the conversion of leuco colorants to their colored form during storage, as traditional antioxidants require high amounts and have diminishing returns, leading to inefficient color stability and unwanted color formation before use.
Innovation Solution
A laundry care composition comprising a leuco colorant co-formulated with a stabilizing amount of antioxidants, specifically a combination of sterically hindered phenols and substituted diarylamines, where the mole ratio of hindered phenol to diarylamine is greater than 1:1, effectively suppressing the conversion to the colored form during storage while allowing triggered color change during use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If traditional antioxidants are used to suppress leuco colorant conversion during storage, then color stability is improved, but high amounts are required and efficacy has diminishing returns
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines two different antioxidants (traditional antioxidant and leuco-safe antioxidant) into a composite antioxidant system. This composite approach allows the system to achieve superior color stability at lower total concentrations compared to using either antioxidant alone, resolving the contradiction between color stability and antioxidant quantity required.
Solution Approach 2:
The antioxidant function is segmented into two specialized components: a traditional antioxidant that provides baseline protection, and a leuco-safe antioxidant that specifically protects leuco colorants without causing conversion. This segmentation allows each component to optimize its function, achieving high color stability with reduced total antioxidant loading.
2Reliability
If high amounts of traditional antioxidants are used to maintain color stability, then color control is improved, but the system becomes less efficient and more costly
Solution Approach 1:
The dual-antioxidant composite system provides reliable color control at lower total concentrations, improving formulation efficiency. The synergistic interaction between the two antioxidants types enhances overall protection effectiveness, reducing the burden on each individual component and allowing for more efficient formulations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the chemical parameter composition of the antioxidant system by introducing a leuco-safe antioxidant with different molecular characteristics and reaction mechanisms. This parameter change enables effective color control at lower total antioxidant levels, improving formulation efficiency while maintaining reliability.
3Illumination intensity
If leuco colorants are used to provide whiteness enhancement, then visual whiteness benefit is improved, but premature color formation occurs during storage
Solution Approach 1:
The leuco-safe antioxidant acts as an intermediary protective agent between the leuco colorant and oxygen/oxidizing conditions during storage. It specifically prevents premature oxidation and color formation while allowing the leuco colorant to remain stable in its colorless state, enabling whiteness enhancement only when needed during the washing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The combination of traditional and leuco-safe antioxidants creates a composite protection system that selectively protects the leuco colorant from premature conversion. This composite system maintains the leuco colorant in its stable, colorless form during storage while preserving its ability to provide visual whiteness enhancement upon activation during use.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The composition maintains color stability during storage and ensures effective color change upon use, providing enhanced whiteness or hue to textile articles without premature color formation, thus addressing the inefficiencies of traditional antioxidant systems.
Implementation Method 1
the conversion of the leuco colorant to its colored or much more highly colored state during storage
Implementation Method 2
a leuco dye if it did not render a significant color at its application concentration and conditions, but renders a significant color in its triggered form
Data Source
AI summary
A laundry care composition comprising: (a) at least one laundry care ingredient, (b) a leuco composition; (c) a stabilizing amount of an antioxidant composition which comprises at least one phenol selected from the group consisting of alkylated phenol, hindered phenol, and mixtures thereof and at least one substituted diarylamine, wherein the mole ratio of the phenol to the substituted diarylamine is greater than 1:1.