Low-temperature bleaching with manganese-containing heteropolytungstates

Abstract

The manganese substituted heteropolytungstates α-[(Mn(H 2O))SiW 11O 39] 6− ( 1), α-[(Mn(H 2O)) 2SiW 10O 38] 8− ( 2), α-[(Mn(H 2O)) 3SiW 9O 37] 10− ( 3), β-[(Mn(H 2O)) 3SiW 9O 37] 10− ( 4), and α-[(Mn(H 2O)) 3PW 9O 37] 9− ( 5) were applied as catalysts for low-temperature bleaching of stained cotton cloth. The bleaching activity of this series of catalysts is correlated to the fibre-damage induced to cotton cloths during washing as well as to the stability of the catalysts under simulated washing conditions.