Introduction

to
Surfactants

Why does surfactant work ?

Water :
Oil
:

Hydrophobic
Lipophilic

Hydrophilic
Lipophobic

What does surfactant do ?

Water & Oil
are mortal
enemies

Surfactants
acts as
clamp
binding
Water & Oil
are together

Surface
Tension
Force
between
two liquids

How does surfactant work?

Surfactant
Definition

Surface Active Agent

Substance which reduces surface/interfacial tension
between two phases
Compounds having tendency to gather around
the interface between two different materials by
altering the properties of interface remarkably
Serves as good mediator to settle dispute between
two phases which are not friends

What is Surface Tension?

The Influence of Surfactants on

Surface Tension

Important Property
Small Micelle

Extremely
Dil. Soln

Micelle

Dil. Soln

Soln at
CMC

Soln
above
CMC

Critical Micelle Concentration

(CMC)
Minimum concentration at which
surfactants molecules begin to
form micelles

Surfactant Behavior

Structures of Micelles

CMC and Micelles

Importance

Micelles make insoluble material soluble in water.

The structure of the micelles can affect the
viscosity of the solution.
Micelles are reservoirs of surfactants.
If not above CMC, the cleaning solution gets
depleted of surfactants and cleaning power is
lost!!

Important Properties of
Surfactants
Wetting and penetrating effects
Emulsifying
Dispersing / Solubilizing effects
Foaming / De-foaming effects
Detergency
Conditioning
Substantivity
Thickening

Wetting effect
Paraffin or new cotton cloth barely wetted by water
But
When surfactant is added to water their surface
easily becomes wet

Surfactant in floor cleaner as a wetting agent

Wetting

Emulsions

Emulsification

Examples of Emulsions

Foaming effect
Foam consist of gas covered with thin liquid film.
Surfactant molecule absorbed to interface between
gas and liquid

Cleaning/Detergency
How does cleaning take place ?
Real Soil Composition

Required Effects when Cleaning

How Surfactants Work

Types of Surfactants

Ionic Surfactants
Anionic Surfactants
Carboxylates
Soaps

LABS

FAS

Alkyl benzene Sulphonates

Ionic Surfactants
Anionic Surfactants
Sulfosuccinate
Diester

Sulfosuccinate
Monoester

Ionic Surfactants: Uses

Anionic Surfactants
Cleansing Formulation
Shampoo
Hand wash
Bath gels
Tooth Paste
Soaps & Detergents

Cationic Surfactants(1)

Cationic Surfactants(2)

Important Property
Substantivity

Cationic Surfactants

Ionic Surfactants
Amphoteric Surfactants
Cocobetaine (CB)

CH3
N+ CH2COOCH3

Cocoamidopropylbetaine ( CAPB)
CH3
CONH(CH2)3N+ CH2COOCH3

Uses :

Amphoteric Surfactants

Betaines are used in personal care products e.g.

hair shampoos, liquid soaps, and cleansing
lotions.
All-purpose cleaning agents, hand dishwashing
agents, and special textile detergents..

Nonionic Surfactants

Nonionic Surfactants

Water Solubility of Nonionics

Reason

Cloud Point

Effect of moles of EO on Cloud

Points of Nonionic

Influence of Cloud Point on

Soil Removal

HLB Hydrophilic Lipophilic

Balance
HLB is a means of expressing the hydrophilic
property of surfactants in figures

HLB Value
Significance
HLB Value

Water in oil
emulsifier

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

Oil in water Emulsifiers

Use

Wetting Agents

Detergents

Solubilizer

HLB According to Griffin

(only for PEG types)

substantive to skin and hair

HLB According to Griffin

(only for polyhydric alcohol types)

HLB = 20 ( 1 SV / AV )
Where

S V = Sap value of ester of polyhydric alcohol

AV = Acid value of fatty acid used

Calculation of HLB value of PEG-7-glyceryl-cocoate

AV of cocofatty acid = 265 mg KOH/g
SV of PEG-7-glyceryl-cocoate = 95

HLB = 20 ( 1 95 / 265 )
= 12.8

HLB
to+Davis
HLBAccording
= 7 + m * Hh
n * Hl
where

m - number of hydrophilic groups in the molecule

Hh - Value of the hydrophilic groups
n - Number of lipophilic groups in the molecule
Hl - Value of the lipophilic groups

Ex : Calculation of HLB of SLES

Formula of SLES : CH3(CH2)11O (CH2CH2O)2SO3Na
HLB = 7 + (1 x 1.3 + 2 x 0.33 + 38.7)+(12 x - 0.475)
= 42

Nonionic Surfactants
Properties

Nonionic Surfactants
Applications
Cleansing agent in detergents
Emulsifying agents household & I & I
formulations
Wetting agents in textile processing,
agrochemical formulations

Thank you