N,N,N',N'-Tetraacetylethylenediamine is used as a peroxide bleach activator in household detergents and for paper pulp. It also serves as an important component of laundry detergents and bleaches, where it is used as an activator for active oxygen bleaching agents such as sodium perborate, sodium percarbonate, sodium perphosphate and sodium persulfate. It reacts with the perhydroxyl anion HO in the presence of aqueous alkaline solution to prepare triacetylethylenediamine and diacetylethylenediamine with the release of peracetic acid, which is a fast acting bleaching agent.
