The relationship of structure to properties in surfactants

Abstract

Abstract Changes in the various structural units present in surfactants strongly affect the interfacial properties shown by these materials. Such properties as surface tension reduction, micelle formation, wetting, foaming and defoaming, detergency, and dispersion of solids all show marked changes with variations in both the hydrophilic and hydrophobic portions of the surfactant molecule, reflecting the processes occurring on a molecular level. Changes in these properties caused by such factors as the length and nature of the hydrophobic group, branching or unsaturation in the hydrophobic group, the nature of the hydrophilic group and its position in the molecule, and the presence or absence of an ionic charge are described and explained in terms of the molecular processes involved.