Leuco Polymer Bluing Agents for Laundry Textile Whitening
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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 alkoxylated polyethyleneimine covalently bound to a leuco moiety, which remains colorless until triggered by physical or chemical changes, enhancing whiteness or imparting a desired hue to textiles without adverse effects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If traditional whitening agents are used at levels providing consumer noticeable whiteness benefits, then whiteness enhancement is improved, but finished product aesthetics are adversely impacted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical state parameter of the whitening agent from a permanently colored compound to a leuco compound that exists in a colorless reduced state during storage and application, then transforms to a colored state only when triggered by oxidation or other environmental factors on the fabric surface. This parameter change allows the agent to provide whiteness enhancement without continuously affecting product aesthetics.
Solution Approach 2:
The leuco whitening agent is applied to the fabric in its colorless reduced state before exposure to environmental triggers. The actual color development and whiteness enhancement effect occurs after application, when the leuco compound is triggered by oxidation, light, or other factors present in the laundry environment, rather than being active immediately upon application.
2Illumination intensity
If traditional whitening agents are used at levels providing consumer noticeable whiteness benefits, then whiteness enhancement is improved, but buildup over time occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the redox state parameter change of leuco compounds, which can be reduced to a colorless state and oxidized to a colored state. This allows the whitening agent to be deposited on fabric without permanent color buildup, as the leuco form can be reduced back to colorless through washing or other reduction processes, preventing cumulative buildup over multiple wash cycles.
Solution Approach 2:
The leuco whitening agent can be reduced back to its colorless state through exposure to reducing agents present in subsequent wash cycles or through storage conditions, allowing the fabric to self-regulate the whitening agent deposition and prevent excessive buildup without requiring additional processing steps.
3Illumination intensity
If traditional whitening agents are used at levels providing consumer noticeable whiteness benefits, then whiteness enhancement is improved, but over hueing occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs leuco compounds that exist in a colorless reduced state during application, then transform to a colored state only after being triggered by environmental factors such as oxidation, light exposure, or pH changes on the fabric. This delayed and controlled color development prevents over hueing, as the color intensity can be regulated by the triggering conditions rather than being immediately and uniformly applied.
Solution Approach 2:
The leuco compound acts as an intermediary between the whitening agent application and the final color effect. It first deposits on the fabric in a colorless state, then serves as a precursor that converts to the active colored whitening form only when triggered by specific environmental conditions, providing a buffer that prevents direct and potentially excessive color deposition.
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 effectively enhances the perceived whiteness of textiles, counteracting fading and yellowing without affecting product aesthetics or causing buildup, providing a stable and visually appealing solution.
Implementation Method 1
The color change upon triggering stems from the change of the molar attenuation coefficient (also known as molar extinction coefficient, molar absorption coefficient, and/or molar absorptivity in some literatures) of the leuco dye molecule in the 400-750 nm range
Implementation Method 2
The change in coloration that occurs is typically visually perceptible to the human eye... upon exposure to certain physical or chemical changes such as, for example, exposure to oxygen, ion addition, exposure to light
Data Source
AI summary
A laundry care composition including (i) from 2 to 70 wt% of a surfactant; and (ii) from 0.0001 to 20.0 wt% of a leuco polymer including an alkoxylated polyethyleneimine covalently bound to a leuco moiety. At least a first portion of nitrogen atoms of the alkoxylated polyethyleneimine have covalently bound thereto a leuco moiety. At least a second portion of nitrogen atoms of the alkoxylated polyethyleneimine have covalently bound thereto a moiety selected from the group consisting of oxyalkylene moieties, polyoxyalkylene moieties, and mixtures thereof; and at least a third portion of nitrogen atoms of the alkoxylated polyethyleneimine have covalently bound thereto a moiety selected from the group consisting of an alkylene chain, an alkylene chain having covalently bound thereto a phenyl or naphthyl group, and mixtures thereof. Methods of making the leuco polymer and methods of treating textiles with such laundry care compositions.