The ammonium, sodium, and potassium salts adopt very similar structures in the solid state, according to X-ray crystallography. In the ammonium salt, the O-O distance is 1.497Å. The sulfate groups are tetrahedral, with three short S-O distances near 1.44Å and one long S-O bond at 1.64Å.[5]
Illustrative of its powerful oxidizing properties, ammonium persulfate is used to etch copperonprinted circuit boards as an alternative to ferric chloride solution.[1][6] This property was discovered many years ago. In 1908, John William Turrentine used a dilute ammonium persulfate solution to etch copper. Turrentine weighed copper spirals before placing the copper spirals into the ammonium persulfate solution for an hour. After an hour, the spirals were weighed again and the amount of copper dissolved by ammonium persulfate was recorded. This experiment was extended to other metals such as nickel, cadmium, and iron, all of which yielded similar results.[7]
The oxidation equation is thus: S 2O2− 8 (aq) + 2 e− → 2 SO2− 4 (aq).
Ammonium persulfate is a standard ingredient in hair bleach.
Airborne dust containing ammonium persulfate may be irritating to eye, nose, throat, lung and skin upon contact. Exposure to high levels of dust may cause difficulty in breathing.[9]
It has been noted that persulfate salts are a major cause of asthmatic effects.[10] Furthermore, it has been suggested that exposure to ammonium persulfate can cause asthmatic effects in hair dressers and receptionists working in the hairdressing industry. These asthmatic effects are proposed to be caused by the oxidation of cysteine residues, as well as methionine residues.[11]
^F. Feher, "Potassium Peroxydisulfate" in Handbook of Preparative Inorganic Chemistry, 2nd Ed. Edited by G. Brauer, Academic Press, 1963, NY. Vol. 1. p. 390.
^Sivertsen, Β. K.; Sorum, H. (1969). "A reinvestigation of the crystal structure of ammonium persulfate, (NH4)2S2O8". Zeitschrift für Kristallographie - Crystalline Materials. 130 (1–6): 449–460. doi:10.1524/zkri.1969.130.16.449. S2CID95804764.
^Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis, vol. 1, pp. 193–197 (1995).
^"Archived copy"(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2010-03-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) FMC Corporation, MSDS sheet dated: 2009-06-26
