Leuco Compounds for Laundry Whiteness via Oxidation Trigger
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional whitening agents in laundry care compositions lose efficacy due to interactions with other formulation components and suffer from poor deposition on textile substrates, leading to a need for leuco compounds that can impart a desired hue to fabrics while maintaining stability and effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
Development of leuco compounds that are essentially colorless until activated, exhibiting a significant increase in molar extinction coefficient upon triggering, allowing for the formulation of laundry care compositions that enhance fabric whiteness and hue without altering the primary color, and deposit effectively on textiles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If traditional whitening agents are used to enhance fabric whiteness, then fabric whiteness is improved, but the agents lose efficacy upon storage due to interactions with other formulation components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses leuco compounds that exist in a colorless reduced state during storage and transform to a colored oxidized state upon application. This parameter change (oxidation state) allows the compound to remain stable during storage while providing whiteness enhancement when needed, resolving the contradiction between stability and efficacy.
Solution Approach 2:
The leuco compound is pre-formulated in its stable colorless reduced state within the laundry composition. The actual whitening action is triggered later by oxidation during the washing process, allowing preliminary stable formulation with delayed activation of the whitening function.
2Illumination intensity
If traditional whitening agents are used to enhance fabric whiteness, then fabric whiteness is improved, but the agents suffer from poor deposition on textile substrates
Solution Approach 1:
The leuco compound undergoes a parameter change from colorless to colored upon oxidation, which coincides with the deposition process. This ensures uniform distribution of the compound on the fabric surface during washing, as the color development occurs simultaneously with deposition rather than beforehand, preventing aggregation or uneven distribution.
3Illumination intensity
If leuco compounds are used to impart desired hue to fabrics, then fabric hue is improved, but the compounds must remain stable during storage
Solution Approach 1:
The leuco compound utilizes a reversible parameter change between reduced (colorless) and oxidized (colored) states. During storage, the compound remains in the stable reduced state. Upon application to fabric during washing, oxidation occurs, transforming the compound to the colored state that imparts the desired hue. This parameter change enables both stability during storage and color development during use.
Solution Approach 2:
The compound is prepared in advance in its stable colorless reduced form, allowing for long-term storage without color development. The hue-imparting oxidation reaction is triggered later during the washing process, separating the storage stability requirement from the hue development requirement.
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 leuco compounds provide measurable whiteness benefits and desired hues to fabrics, maintaining stability and effectiveness, addressing the limitations of traditional whitening agents by ensuring consistent performance and aesthetic appeal.
Implementation Method 1
The change in coloration that occurs is typically visually perceptible to the human eye. All existing compounds have some absorbance in the visible light region (400-750 nm), and thus more or less have some color. In this invention, a dye is considered as 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 compound of Formula (I)in which one Rp is —NH2 and the two remaining Rp are independently selected from the group consisting of —OR4 and —NR1R4. A compound of Formula (X)in which one Rp is —NH2 and the two remaining Rp are independently selected from the group consisting of —OR4 and —NR1R4.