Sodium Hypochlorite

Bleach (when very diluted)

NaClO

Greenish yellow in the liquid state and white powder in the solid state. Characteristic odor.

Obtained by cold absorption of chlorine gas in a caustic soda solution. The current production method is the Hooker process, in which sodium hypochlorite and sodium chloride are formed when chlorine passes through a diluted, cooled solution of sodium hydroxide.

Water treatment, textile bleaching and manufacturing of cleaning products. Household hygiene and disinfection remain among its main daily uses.

Sodium hypochlorite was discovered in 1774 by the Swedish chemist Karl Wilhelm Scheele, and its bleaching properties were demonstrated eleven years later by the Frenchman Claude Berthollet. Bleach powder, a combination of chlorine and lime milk, was first produced by the Scottish scientist Charles Tennant at the end of the 18th century, remaining the main bleaching agent available until the 1920s; only then was it replaced by liquefied chlorine and sodium hypochlorite.

In bulk.