Synthesis and characterization of novel surfactants: Combination products of fatty acids, hydroxycarboxylic acids and alcohols

Hans Josef Altenbach, Rachid Ihizane, Bernd Jakob, Karsten Lange, Manfred Schneider, Zeynep Yilmaz, Sukhendu Nandi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

The reaction of hydroxycarboxylic acids, such as citric, malic and tartaric species with an excess of fatty acid chlorides produces the corresponding O-acylated hydroxycarboxylic anhydrides in one step and in a near quantitative yield. These molecules are excellent electrophiles which react readily with a variety of nucleophiles including alcohols, diols and polyols. Their reaction with triethylene glycol and triethylene glycol monomethyl ether leads to two series of novel anionic surfactants, which are unsymmetrical gemini surfactants. The determination of their properties (CMC, foaming, HLB) revealed that these molecules are-depending on the chain length of the fatty acid-excellent emulsifiers, and that they also display interesting antimicrobial activity. These novel functional surfactants are of interest for applications in food and personal care products and for the formulation of pharmaceuticals.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)399-407
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Surfactants and Detergents
Volume13
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Oct 2010
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Anionic surfactants
  • Foaming properties
  • Gemini surfactants
  • Surface activity
  • Synthesis

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemical Engineering
  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Surfaces, Coatings and Films

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