An introduction to surfactants

Abstract

Use of surfactant chemicals to modify the surface or interface between two phases leads to a number of very interesting effects. These include:

• • The ability to form a stable emulsion of oil and water, which allows the production of mayonnaise for salad dressing, hand creams and lotions for personal grooming, or to emulsify bitumen for road laying.

• • The ability to generate foam for use in bubble baths, toothpaste, or polyurethane foam for refrigerator insulation.

• • The ability to disperse solid particles in a liquid matrix, and so give rise to cream cleansers for bathrooms, or emulsion paints.

• • The ability to wet a surface not normally easy to wet, and so to provide leaf penetration for insecticides, or in combination with the other properties listed above, to provide detergency for the domestic washing of clothes.