Sodium hypochlorite is a chemical compound with the formula NaOCl or NaClO, comprising

a sodium cation (Na+
) and a hypochlorite anion (OCl−
or ClO−
). It may also be viewed as the sodium salt of hypochlorous acid. The anhydrous compound is
unstable and may decompose explosively.[2][3] It can be crystallized as a pentahydrate NaOCl·5H
2O, a pale greenish-yellow solid which is not explosive and is stable if kept refrigerated.
[4][5]

Sodium hypochlorite is most often encountered as a pale greenish-yellow dilute solution

commonly known as liquid bleach or simply bleach, a household chemical widely used (since
the 18th century) as a disinfectant or a bleaching agent. The compound in solution is unstable
and easily decomposes, liberating chlorine, which is the active principle of such products.
Indeed, sodium hypochlorite is the oldest and still most important chlorine-based bleach.[6][7]
Its corrosive properties, common availability, and reaction products make it a significant safety
risk. In particular, mixing liquid bleach with other cleaning products, such as acids or ammonia,
may produce toxic fumes.[8]

Stability of the solid[edit]

Anhydrous sodium hypochlorite can be prepared but, like many hypochlorites, it is highly
unstable and decomposes explosively on heating or friction.[2] The decomposition is accelerated
by carbon dioxide at atmospheric levels.[3][8] It is a white solid with the orthorhombic crystal
structure.[9]
Sodium hypochlorite can also be obtained as a crystalline pentahydrate NaOCl·5H
2O, which is not explosive and is much more stable than the anhydrous compound.  The
[3][4]

formula is sometimes given as 2NaOCl·10H

2O.  The transparent light greenish yellow orthorombic[10][11] crystals contain 44% NaOCl by
[citation needed]

weight and melt at 25–27 °C. The compound decomposes rapidly at room temperature, so it
must be kept under refrigeration. At lower temperatures, however, it is quite stable: reportedly
only 1% decomposition after 360 days at 7 °C.[5][12]
A 1966 US patent claims that stable solid sodium hypochlorite dihydrate NaOCl·2H
2O can be obtained by carefully excluding chloride ions (Cl
−

), which are present in the output of common manufacturing processes and are said to catalyze
the decomposition of hypochlorite into chlorate (ClO−
3) and chloride. In one test, the dihydrate was claimed to show only 6% decomposition after 13.5

months storage at −25 °C. The patent also claims that the dihydrate can be reduced to the
anhydrous form by vacuum drying at about 50 °C, yielding a solid that showed no decomposition
after 64 hours at −25 °C.[13]
Equilibria and stability of solutions[edit]
At typical ambient temperatures, sodium hypochlorite is more stable in dilute solutions that
contain solvated Na+
 and OCl−
 ions. The density of the solution is 1.093 g/mL at 5% concentration,[14] and 1.21 g/mL at 14%,
20 °C.[15] Stoichometric solutions are fairly alkaline, with pH 11 or more[5] since hypochlorous
acid is a weak acid:
OCl−
 + H
2O ⇌ HOCl + OH
−

The following species and equilibria are present in solutions of NaOCl:[16]

HOCl (aq) ⇌ H+
 + OCl−
HOCl (aq) + Cl−
 + H+
 ⇌ Cl
2 (aq) + H

2O

Cl
2 (aq) + Cl
−

 ⇌ Cl −

Cl
2 (aq) ⇌ Cl

2 (g)