In chemistry, an alcohol is a type of organic compound that carries at least one hydroxyl functional group bound to a saturated carbon atom. The term alcohol originally referred to the primary alcohol ethanol, which is used as a drug and is the main alcohol present in alcoholic drinks. An important class of alcohols, of which methanol and ethanol are the simplest examples, includes all compounds which conform to the general formula CnH2n+1OH. Simple monoalcohols that are the subject of this article include primary, secondary and tertiary alcohols.
Sodium laureth sulfate (SLES), an accepted contraction of sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES), also called sodium alkylethersulfate, is an anionic detergent and surfactant found in many personal care products and for industrial uses. SLES is an inexpensive and very effective foaming agent. SLES, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), ammonium lauryl sulfate (ALS), and sodium pareth sulfate are surfactants that are used in many cosmetic products for their cleaning and emulsifying properties. It is derived from palm kernel oil or coconut oil. In herbicides, it is used as a surfactant to improve absorption of the herbicidal chemicals and reduces time the product takes to be rainfast, when enough of the herbicidal agent will be absorbed.
Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) or sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), sometimes written sodium laurilsulfate, is an organic compound with the formula CH3(CH2)11OSO3Na. It is an anionic surfactant used in many cleaning and hygiene products. This compound is the sodium salt of the 12-carbon an organosulfate. Its hydrocarbon tail combined with a polar "headgroup" give the compound amphiphilic properties that make it useful as a detergent. SDS is also component of mixtures produced from inexpensive coconut and palm oils. SDS is a common component of many domestic cleaning, personal hygiene and cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and food products, as well as of industrial and commercial cleaning and product formulations.
A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with cleansing properties when in dilute solutions. There are a large variety of detergents, a common family being the alkylbenzene sulfonates, which are soap-like compounds that are more soluble in hard water, because the polar sulfonate is less likely than the polar carboxylate to bind to calcium and other ions found in hard water.
Surfactants are chemical compounds that decrease the surface tension or interfacial tension between two liquids, a liquid and a gas, or a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may function as emulsifiers, wetting agents, detergents, foaming agents, or dispersants. The word "surfactant" is a blend of surface-active agent, coined c. 1950.
Ethoxylation is a chemical reaction in which ethylene oxide adds to a substrate. It is the most widely practiced alkoxylation, which involves the addition of epoxides to substrates.
In organic chemistry, sulfonic acid refers to a member of the class of organosulfur compounds with the general formula R−S(=O)2−OH, where R is an organic alkyl or aryl group and the S(=O)2(OH) group a sulfonyl hydroxide. As a substituent, it is known as a sulfo group. A sulfonic acid can be thought of as sulfuric acid with one hydroxyl group replaced by an organic substituent. The parent compound is the parent sulfonic acid, HS(=O)2(OH), a tautomer of sulfurous acid, S(=O)(OH)2. Salts or esters of sulfonic acids are called sulfonates.
Dodecanol, or lauryl alcohol, is an organic compound produced industrially from palm kernel oil or coconut oil. It is a fatty alcohol. Sulfate esters of lauryl alcohol, especially sodium lauryl sulfate, are very widely used as surfactants. Sodium lauryl sulfate, ammonium lauryl sulfate, and sodium laureth sulfate are all used in shampoos. Lauryl alcohol is tasteless and colorless with a floral odor.
Laundry detergent is a type of detergent used for cleaning dirty laundry (clothes). Laundry detergent is manufactured in powder and liquid form.
Cocamidopropyl betaine (CAPB) is a mixture of closely related organic compounds derived from coconut oil and dimethylaminopropylamine. CAPB is available as a viscous pale yellow solution and it is used as a surfactant in personal care products and animal husbandry. The name reflects that the major part of the molecule, the lauric acid group, is derived from coconut oil. Cocamidopropyl betaine to a significant degree has replaced cocamide DEA.
Sulfation is the chemical reaction that entails the addition of SO3 group. In principle, many sulfations would involve reactions of sulfur trioxide (SO3). In practice, most sulfations are effected less directly. Regardless of the mechanism, the installation of a sulfate-like group on a substrate leads to substantial changes.
Organosulfates are a class of organic compounds sharing a common functional group with the structure R-O-SO3−. The SO4 core is a sulfate group and the R group is any organic residue. All organosulfates are formally esters derived from alcohols and sulfuric acid, although many are not prepared in this way. Many sulfate esters are used in detergents, and some are useful reagents. Alkyl sulfates consist of a hydrophobic hydrocarbon chain, a polar sulfate group (containing an anion) and either a cation or amine to neutralize the sulfate group. Examples include: sodium lauryl sulfate (also known as sulfuric acid mono dodecyl ester sodium salt) and related potassium and ammonium salts.
Sodium tetradecyl sulfate (STS) is a common anionic surfactant. The compound consists of the sodium salt of the micelle-forming sulfate ester of tetradecanol. It is a white, water-soluble solid of low toxicity with many practical uses.
Cleaning agents or hard-surface cleaners are substances used to remove dirt, including dust, stains, foul odors, and clutter on surfaces. Purposes of cleaning agents include health, beauty, removing offensive odor, and avoiding the spread of dirt and contaminants to oneself and others. Some cleaning agents can kill bacteria and clean at the same time. Others, called degreasers, contain organic solvents to help dissolve oils and fats.
1,3-Propane sultone is the organosulfur compound with the formula (CH2)3SO3. It is a cyclic sulfonate ester, a class of compounds called sultones. It is a readily melting colorless solid.
Alkylbenzene sulfonates are a class of anionic surfactants, consisting of a hydrophilic sulfonate head-group and a hydrophobic alkylbenzene tail-group. Along with sodium laureth sulfate, they are one of the oldest and most widely used synthetic detergents and may be found in numerous personal-care products and household-care products . They were first introduced in the 1930s in the form of branched alkylbenzene sulfonates (BAS). However following environmental concerns these were replaced with linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LAS) during the 1960s. Since then production has increased significantly from about one million tons in 1980, to around 3.5 million tons in 2016, making them most produced anionic surfactant after soaps.
Carbyl sulfate is an organosulfur compound. The white solid is the product of the reaction of sulfur trioxide and ethylene. It is used in preparation of some dyes and other organosulfur compounds. Carbyl sulfate is a colorless, crystalline, hygroscopic substance although commercial product can appear as a liquid. Because of its unpleasant properties carbyl sulfate is difficult to handle and is usually not isolated but further processed to give secondary products.
Taurates (or taurides) are a group of mild anionic surfactants. They are composed of a hydrophilic head group, consisting of N-methyltaurine (2-methylaminoethanesulfonic acid) and a lipophilic residue, consisting of a long-chain carboxylic acid (fatty acid), both linked via an amide bond. The fatty acids used could be lauric (C12), myristic (C14), palmitic (C16) or stearic acid (C18), but mainly mixtures of oleic acid (C18:1) and coconut fatty acid (C8 – C18) are used. Besides sodium, no other counterions play a relevant role (these could be e. g. ammonium or other alkali or alkaline earth metals).
N-Methyltaurine is an aminosulfonic acid which is present as a zwitterion in the crystalline state and in polar solvents. In contrast to the widespread taurine, N-methyltaurine has been found in nature only in red algae, where it is formed by methylation of taurine. It is suitable for esterification with long-chain carboxylic acids to taurides (acylaminoethansulfonaten) because of its high polarity and the relatively good solubility of its alkaline earth metal salts, which are also used as mild anionic surfactants.
α-Olefin sulfonates are a group of anionic surfactants, which are used as detergents. The compounds contain a - mostly linear, primary - alkyl R and a monovalent cation M, preferably sodium. The most frequently used example of this group of substances is sodium α-olefin sulfonate.
