3. Surface Active Agents
The term surfactant is a blend of surface
active agent. Surfactants are usually
organic compounds that are amphiphilic,
meaning they contain both hydrophobic
groups (their "tails") and hydrophilic groups
(their "heads").
when added to a liquid, reduces its surface
tension, thereby increasing its spreading
and wetting properties.
In the dyeing of textiles, surface-active
agents help the dye penetrate the fabric
evenly.
5. Detergent
A detergent (as a noun; "detersive" means
"cleaning" or "having cleaning properties";
adjective "detergency" indicates presence or degree
of cleaning property) is a material intended to
assist cleaning.
Today, detergent surfactants are made from a
variety of petrochemicals (derived from petroleum)
and/or oleochemicals (derived from fats and oils).
Although the cleansing action of soaps and
detergents is similar, the detergents do not react as
readily with hard water ions of calcium and
magnesium. Detergent molecular structures consist
of a long hydrocarbon chain and a water soluble
ionic group.
7. Anionic detergents:
The detergents which
consist negative ionic
group are called anionic
detergents. The majority
are alky sulfates and
others are generally
known as alkyl benzene
sulfonates.
8. Cationic detergents
The cationic classes of
detergents have a
positive ionic charge and
are called "cationic"
detergents. In addition
to being good cleansing
agents, they also
possess germicidal
properties which makes
them useful in hospitals.
Most of these detergents
are derivatives of
ammonia. A cationic
detergent is most likely
to be found in a
shampoo or clothes
"rinse".
9. Nonionic detergents
Nonionic surfactant
molecules are
produced by first
converting the
hydrocarbon to an
alcohol and then
reacting the fatty
alcohol with ethylene
oxide. They are not
ionize in water. They
are very popular in
textile uses.
10. Advantages and disadvantages
of synthetic detergents
Effective cleaning in hard water
They are not precipitate as insoluble
Ca/Mg salts (gummy substance) on
material
They are not very good detergent as
soap
Incompatibility, in case of opposite
ionic nature
Environmental hazard