The Chemistry Behind How Febreze Works

The Chemistry Behind How Febreze Works Does Febreze remove odors or merely mask them? Heres the chemistry behind how Febreze works, including information about its active ingredient, cyclodextrin, and how the product interacts with odors. Febreze was invented by Procter Gamble and introduced in 1996. The active ingredient in Febreze is beta-cyclodextrin, a carbohydrate. Beta-cyclodextrin is an 8-sugar ringed molecule that is formed via an enzymatic conversion of starch, usually from corn. How Febreze Works The cyclodextrin molecule resembles a doughnut. When you spray Febreze, the water in the product partially dissolves the odor, allowing it to form a complex inside the hole of the cyclodextrin doughnut shape. The stink molecule is still there, but it cant bind to your odor receptors, so you cant smell it. Depending on the type of Febreze youre using, the odor might simply be deactivated or it might be replaced with something nice-smelling, such as a fruity or floral fragrance. As Febreze dries, more and more of the odor molecules bind to the cyclodextrin, lowering the concentration of the molecules in the air and eliminating the odor. If water is added once again, the odor molecules are released, allowing them to be washed away and truly removed. Some sources say that Febreze also contains zinc chloride, which would help to neutralize sulfur-containing odors (e.g., onions, rotten eggs) and might dull nasal receptor sensitivity to smell, but this compound is not listed in the ingredients, at least in the spray-on products.

The Difference Between Metals and Nonmetals

The Difference Between Metals and Nonmetals Elements may be classified as either metals or nonmetals based on their properties. Much of the time, you can tell an element is a metal simply by looking at its metallic luster, but this isnt the only distinction between these two general groups of elements. Metals Most elements are metals. This includes the alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, transition metals, lanthanides, and actinides. On the periodic table, metals are separated from nonmetals by a zig-zag line stepping through carbon, phosphorus, selenium, iodine, and radon. These elements and those to the right of them are nonmetals. Elements just to the left of the line may be termed metalloids or semimetals and have properties intermediate between those of the metals and nonmetals. The physical and chemical properties of the metals and nonmetals may be used to tell them apart. Metal Physical Properties: Lustrous (shiny)Good conductors of heat and electricityHigh melting pointHigh density (heavy for their size)Malleable (can be hammered)Ductile (can be drawn into wires)Usually solid at room temperature (an exception is mercury)Opaque as a thin sheet (cant see through metals)Metals are sonorous or make a bell-like sound when struck Metal Chemical Properties: Have 1-3 electrons in the outer shell of each metal atom and lose electrons readilyCorrode easily (e.g., damaged by oxidation such as tarnish or rust)Lose electrons easilyForm oxides that are basicFave lower electronegativitiesAre good reducing agents Metal: copper (left); metalloid: arsenic (center); and non-metal: sulfur (right). Matt Meadows, Getty Images Nonmetals Nonmetals, with the exception of hydrogen, are located on the right side of the periodic table. Elements that are nonmetals are hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, oxygen, sulfur, selenium, all of the halogens, and the noble gases. Nonmetal Physical Properties: Not lustrous (dull appearance)Poor conductors of heat and electricityNonductile solidsBrittle solidsMay be solids, liquids or gases at room temperatureTransparent as a thin sheetNonmetals are not sonorous Nonmetal Chemical Properties: Usually have 4-8 electrons in their outer shellReadily gain or share valence electronsForm oxides that are acidicHave higher electronegativitiesAre good oxidizing agents Both metals and nonmetals take different forms (allotropes), which have different appearances and properties from each other. For example, graphite and diamond are two allotropes of the nonmetal carbon, while ferrite and austenite are two allotropes of iron. While nonmetals may have an allotrope that appears metallic, all of the allotropes of metals look like what we think of as a metal (lustrous, shiny).