Leuco Polymer Bluing Agents for Laundry Care
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional whitening agents for textiles often adversely impact aesthetics or cause buildup over time, failing to effectively counteract fading and yellowing due to light, air, and natural fiber degradation.
Innovation Solution
A laundry care composition containing a leuco polymer, comprising a polyamine covalently bound to a leuco moiety, which deposits well on fabrics and transforms into an intense colored state upon exposure to triggers, enhancing whiteness without adverse effects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If traditional whitening agents are used to enhance whiteness, then consumer noticeable whiteness benefits are achieved, but finished product aesthetics are adversely impacted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical state parameter of the colorant from a permanently colored state to a leuco (colorless) state that only develops color upon triggering. This allows the whitening agent to be invisible in the finished product while still providing whiteness enhancement when activated on the fabric, thus resolving the contradiction between achieving whiteness benefits and maintaining aesthetics.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary triggering mechanism (oxidation, pH change, or light exposure) that activates the colorant only when needed. The leuco colorant acts as an intermediary substance that remains dormant during application and storage, then activates to provide whiteness enhancement, avoiding direct aesthetic impact while achieving the desired effect.
2Illumination intensity
If traditional whitening agents are used to enhance whiteness, then consumer noticeable whiteness benefits are achieved, but buildup occurs over time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses leuco colorants that change their deposition behavior based on activation state. In the colorless leuco state, the colorants deposit minimally on fabric. Upon triggering to the colored state, they provide whiteness enhancement. This parameter change prevents cumulative buildup over multiple washes while maintaining effective whiteness benefits, resolving the contradiction between durability and buildup.
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 polymer composition provides a noticeable whiteness benefit without affecting the aesthetic appeal of textiles and prevents re-deposition of soil, effectively counteracting fading and yellowing over multiple washes.
Implementation Method 1
The polymeric leuco colorants are comprised of at least two components: at least one leuco chromophore component and at least one polymeric component. Leuco dyes are also known in the prior art to exhibit a change from a colorless or slightly colored state to a colored state upon exposure to specific chemical or physical triggers.
Implementation Method 2
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.
Data Source
AI summary
A laundry care composition comprising a surfactant and a leuco polymer comprising a polyamine and at least one leuco moiety covalently bound to the polyamine. Methods of treating textiles with such laundry care compositions.