How do surfactants work?

First, the effect: the surfactant reduces the surface tension of water by adsorption at the gas-liquid two-phase interface, and can also reduce the oil-water interfacial tension by adsorption between the liquid interface. Many surfactants can also be aggregated into aggregates in Zen or bulk solutions. It has a series of physical and chemical effects such as wetting or anti-sticking, emulsification or breaking, foaming or defoaming, solublization, dispersion, washing, corrosion prevention, antistatic and the corresponding practical applications

Second, principle: Through the affinity of different parts of the molecule for the two phases, so that the two phases are regarded as the components of the phase, the molecules are arranged between the two phases, so that the surface of the two phases is equivalent to the internal part of the molecule. This reduces surface tension. Since both phases regard it as a component of the original phase, it is equivalent to that the two phases and the surfactant molecules do not form an interface, which is equivalent to partially eliminating the interface of the two phases in this way, reducing the surface tension and surface free energy.

Extended data

1. Surfactants have become a flexible and versatile fine chemical product with wide use. Surfactants in addition to daily life as detergents, other applications can cover almost all fine chemical fields.

2. Surfactants in response to human requirements are developing in the direction of mild, easy biodegradation and versatility, emphasizing the use of safety, ecological protection and improved efficiency. For example, alkyl alcohol ether carboxylate (AEC) is a high-quality surfactant hot variety that has been actively researched and developed in developed countries since the 1980s, and it is known as the "green variety of surfactant in the 1990s" with alkyl polyglycosides and alcohol ether phosphate monomers.