What is a surfactant

Surfactants are a special type of chemical substance with a unique molecular structure, consisting of two parts: hydrophilic (water-soluble) and hydrophobic (oil soluble). This structure enables surfactants to have the ability to reduce surface tension at the interface of water and oil, thus playing an important role in various applications.
The main functions of surfactants include:
Reducing surface tension: They can significantly reduce the surface tension of liquids, making them easier to spread and wet the surface of objects.
Emulsification: surfactant can stabilize the mixture of oil and water to form lotion, which is widely used in food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries.
Wetting effect: They can improve the wettability of liquids on solid surfaces, aiding in cleaning and coating processes.
Foaming and defoaming: Surfactants can increase the foaming properties of liquids and can also be used as defoamers.
Solubilization effect: They can increase the solubility of insoluble substances in solution.
Dispersion effect: Surfactants help to disperse solid particles in liquids, preventing their aggregation and settling.
Surfactants can be classified into the following categories based on their molecular structure and charge characteristics:
Cationic surfactant: A positively charged surfactant, such as quaternary ammonium compounds.
Anionic surfactants: surfactants with negative charges, such as sulfates and sulfonates.
Non ionic surfactants: Non charged surfactants such as polyoxyethylene ether and glycerides.
Amphoteric surfactants: Molecular structures with both positive and negative charge groups can exhibit the properties of cationic or anionic surfactants at different pH values.
Surfactants are widely used in various fields such as detergents, cleaning agents, cosmetics, food processing, pharmaceuticals, textiles, papermaking, etc.