Question

What is a complexing agent?

Answer 1

In order to answer this question we should first get some understanding about Complexing agent. Complexing agents are substances that can form complexes with one of the ions involved in the precipitation, lowering the ion's activity and increasing the solution's stability.

Complete answer:
Laundry detergent powders and liquids, as well as all-purpose cleaning solutions, contain complexing agents, or builders. Phosphates, phosphonates, polycarboxylates, and zeolites are common complexing agents. Water hardness is inactivated by complexing agents, which improve cleaning performance. They preserve calcium and magnesium ions in solution and prevent them from interfering with surfactants, as well as preventing soil redeposition on washed fabrics or surfaces. In phosphate-free detergents, zeolites are combined with additional builders.
Because of their propensity to form stable chelates with a large number of PHE ions, complexing agents are also employed to measure availability. A chelate is a ligand that has two or more electron-donor groups, allowing the metal ion and the ligand to make multiple bonds (Peters,$1999$). Extractions with chelating agents such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) are commonly employed in soil science to determine accessible soil content.
Menzies et al. ($2007$) stated that because these extraction procedures rely on organic ligands capable of creating a strong combination with PHEs, the ligand can become saturated and its concentration should be addressed for substantially contaminated areas.

Note:
Complexation is a crucial process that determines whether mineral solubility limits are reached, the quantity of adsorption that happens, and the water's redox state in some situations. Chemicals and ligands can also create stable, soluble complexes.