The use of hydrogen peroxide in cleaning formulations has been growing significantly, driven by the search for efficient, versatile, and chlorine-free solutions. Present in applications such as bleaches, disinfectants, stain removers, and professional cleaners, peroxide is a highly effective active ingredient, but it brings with it a critical challenge: its instability.

With this in mind, Macler developed Isogen EVOX, a solution that facilitates the development of formulations with hydrogen peroxide.

Peroxide formulations: the challenge of stability

Despite its high cleaning power and oxidizing action, hydrogen peroxide is naturally unstable. Over time, it degrades, reducing the product's effectiveness and causing problems such as:

• Efficiency loss and decreased performance.
• Formation of gases, leading to swelling of packaging.
• Sensitivity to the presence of metals, such as iron, even in low concentrations.
• Fragrance alteration, caused by the oxidation of aromatic components, impacting the olfactory profile of the product.
• Reduction in lifespan of the formulation.

In many cases, palliative solutions, such as valve caps, are used to release the generated gas. However, in addition to increasing packaging costs, this cap will only allow excess degraded peroxide to escape, but will not stop the active ingredient from degrading.

Less instability and greater efficiency in peroxide-based systems

Isogen EVOX is a stabilizing base developed to act directly on the root of the problem, protecting the peroxide and ensuring its stability over time. This results in more effective, safer products with a longer shelf life.

Among the distinguishing features of Isogen EVOX, the following stand out:

• Long-term stability of peroxide
• Protection against iron present in water.
• Increased cleaning performance
• Improved moistening capacity
• Compatible with anionic, cationic, and non-ionic systems.
• Ease of application and dosage
• Safe product: non-corrosive and non-flammable.

Another distinguishing feature of Isogen EVOX is its ability to stabilize peroxide in a neutral medium. This characteristic is important because, at a neutral pH, peroxide exhibits greater controlled reactivity, which enhances its oxidizing and bleaching action. In practice, this means greater cleaning efficiency without the need to increase the concentration of the active ingredient. Tests carried out by SmartLab demonstrate that it is possible to reduce the active peroxide content in the formulation by up to 50% while maintaining cleaning efficiency.

It is also worth highlighting the ability to improve the wetting of the formulation. This allows the product to penetrate deeper into fabric fibers, access pores and cracks in surfaces, and increase the effective contact of the active ingredient with the dirt, enhancing the action of the peroxide and making cleaning more efficient even in more challenging conditions.

Regarding stability, in formulations with 5% active peroxide, the addition of just 0.1% Isogen EVOX significantly contributed to maintaining the peroxide stable over time.

Another highlight is its ability to protect against iron contamination, one of the main causes of peroxide degradation, maintaining stability even at levels far exceeding those normally found in drinking water, whose permitted value is 0.3 ppm. The graph below shows that Isogen EVOX applied at 0.1% is capable of protecting against peroxide up to 150 ppm of iron in water.

Greater efficiency and lower costs

By stabilizing the peroxide, Isogen EVOX not only improves formulation performance but also reduces losses throughout the chain, from production to consumer use. This eliminates the need for stopgap solutions, such as valve caps. The solution allows for the development of more reliable products with better performance and greater perceived market value.