Sodium persulfate is a chemical compound

Chemical compound

A chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements that can be separated into simpler substances by chemical reactions. Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure; they consist of a fixed ratio of atoms that are held together...

. It is a strong oxidizer. It is a severe irritant of skin, eyes, and respiratory system. It is almost non-hygroscopic and has particularly good ability to be stored for long time. It is easy and safe to handle. It is not combustible, but releases oxygen easily and assists combustion of other materials.

It is used as a bleach

Bleach

Bleach refers to a number of chemicals that remove color, whiten, or disinfect, often via oxidation. Common chemical bleaches include household chlorine bleach , lye, oxygen bleach , and bleaching powder...

, both standalone (particularly in hair cosmetics) and as a detergent

Detergent

A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with "cleaning properties in dilute solutions." In common usage, "detergent" refers to alkylbenzenesulfonates, a family of compounds that are similar to soap but are less affected by hard water...

 component. It is a replacement for ammonium persulfate

Ammonium persulfate

Ammonium persulfate 2S2O8 is a strong oxidizing agent. It is very soluble in water; the dissolution of the salt in water is endothermic. It is a radical initiator. It is used to etch copper on printed circuit boards as an alternative to ferric chloride solution...

 in etching mixtures for zinc

Zinc

Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...

 and printed circuit board

Printed circuit board

A printed circuit board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, tracks or signal traces etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. It is also referred to as printed wiring board or etched wiring...

s, and is used for pickling

Pickling (metal)

Tarnision is a metal surface treatment used to remove impurities, such as stains, inorganic contaminants, rust or scale from ferrous metals, copper, and aluminum alloys. A solution called Tarnision liquor, which contains strong acids, is used to remove the surface impurities...

 of copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

 and some other metals. It is a source of free radicals

Radical (chemistry)

Radicals are atoms, molecules, or ions with unpaired electrons on an open shell configuration. Free radicals may have positive, negative, or zero charge...

, making it useful as a radical initiator

Radical initiator

In chemistry, radical initiators are substances that can produce radical species under mild conditions and promote radical reactions . These substances generally possess weak bonds—bonds that have small bond dissociation energies. Radical initiators are utilized in industrial processes such...

 for emulsion polymerization

Emulsion polymerization

Emulsion polymerization is a type of radical polymerization that usually starts with an emulsion incorporating water, monomer, and surfactant. The most common type of emulsion polymerization is an oil-in-water emulsion, in which droplets of monomer are emulsified in a continuous phase of water...

 reactions and for accelerated curing

Accelerated curing

Accelerated curing is any method by which high early age strength is achieved in concrete. These techniques are especially useful in the prefabrication industry wherein high early age strength enables the removal of the formwork within 24 hours thereby reducing the cycle time resulting in cost...

 of low formaldehyde

Formaldehyde

Formaldehyde is an organic compound with the formula CH2O. It is the simplest aldehyde, hence its systematic name methanal.Formaldehyde is a colorless gas with a characteristic pungent odor. It is an important precursor to many other chemical compounds, especially for polymers...

 adhesives. It is also used as a soil conditioner

Soil conditioner

A soil conditioner, also called a soil amendment, is a material added to soil to improve plant growth and health. A conditioner or a combination of conditioners corrects the soil's deficiencies in structure and-or nutrients.-Purpose:...

 and in manufacture of dye

Dye

A dye is a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and requires a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber....

stuffs, modification of starch

Starch

Starch or amylum is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by all green plants as an energy store...

, bleach activator, desizing

Desizing

Desizing is the process of removing the size material from the warp yarns in woven fabrics.-Sizing agents:Sizing agents are selected on the basis of type of fabric, environmental friendliness, ease of removal, cost considerations, effluent treatment, etc.-Natural sizing agents:Natural sizing agents...

 agent for oxidative desizing, etc.

Conditions/substances to avoid mixing persulfates with are: moisture

Moisture

Humidity is the amount of moisture the air can hold before it rains. Moisture refers to the presence of a liquid, especially water, often in trace amounts...

, heat

Heat

In physics and thermodynamics, heat is energy transferred from one body, region, or thermodynamic system to another due to thermal contact or thermal radiation when the systems are at different temperatures. It is often described as one of the fundamental processes of energy transfer between...

, flame

Flame

A flame is the visible , gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic reaction taking place in a thin zone...

, ignition

Combustion

Combustion or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species. The release of heat can result in the production of light in the form of either glowing or a flame...

 sources, shock

Shock (mechanics)

A mechanical or physical shock is a sudden acceleration or deceleration caused, for example, by impact, drop, kick, earthquake, or explosion. Shock is a transient physical excitation....

, friction

Friction

Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and/or material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction:...

, reducing agent

Reducing agent

A reducing agent is the element or compound in a reduction-oxidation reaction that donates an electron to another species; however, since the reducer loses an electron we say it is "oxidized"...

s, organic material, sodium peroxide

Sodium peroxide

Sodium peroxide is the inorganic compound with the formula Na2O2. This solid is the product when sodium is burned with oxygen. It is a strong base and a potent oxidizing agent. It exists in several hydrates and peroxyhydrates including Na2O2·2H2O2·4H2O, Na2O2·2H2O, Na2O2·2H2O2, and...

, water

Water

Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

, aluminium

Aluminium

Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....

, and powdered metals.

Sodium persulfate is a oxidizing agent

Oxidizing agent

An oxidizing agent can be defined as a substance that removes electrons from another reactant in a redox chemical reaction...

 in chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

, for example in a synthesis of diapocynin from apocynin

Apocynin

Apocynin, also known as acetovanillone, is a natural organic compound structurally related to vanillin. It has been isolated from a variety of plant sources and is being studied for its variety of pharmacological properties.- History :...

 where iron(II) sulfate

Iron(II) sulfate

Iron sulfate or ferrous sulfate is the chemical compound with the formula FeSO4. Known since ancient times as copperas and as green vitriol, the blue-green heptahydrate is the most common form of this material...

 is the radical initiator:

The sulfate radical formed in situ has a standard electrode potential

Standard electrode potential

In electrochemistry, the standard electrode potential, abbreviated E° or E , is the measure of individual potential of a reversible electrode at standard state, which is with solutes at an effective concentration of 1 mol dm−3, and gases at a pressure of 1 atm...

of 2.7 V.