What is a surfactant and what does it do?

What is a surfactant and what does it do?

Surfactant, also called surface-active agent, substance such as a detergent that, when added to a liquid, reduces its surface tension, thereby increasing its spreading and wetting properties. Surfactants are used in corrosion inhibition, in ore flotation, to promote oil flow in porous rocks, and to produce aerosols.

What do surfactants do to bacteria?

Surfactants used in cleaning can kill bacteria by interfering with and breaking up the cell membrane components such as lipids and proteins. The hydrophobic surfactant tail embeds itself in the lipid layer surrounding cells, and causes it to break apart, which can be easily washed away with water.

What is an example of a surfactant?

Sodium stearate is a good example of a surfactant. It is the most common surfactant in soap. Another common surfactant is 4-(5-dodecyl)benzenesulfonate. Other examples include docusate (dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate), alkyl ether phosphates, benzalkaonium chloride (BAC), and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS).

What other substances are considered surfactants?

Alkyl sulfates include ammonium lauryl sulfate, sodium lauryl and the related alkyl-ether sulfates sodium laureth sulfate, also known as sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES), and sodium myreth sulfate. These are the most common surfactants and comprise the alkyl carboxylates (soaps), such as sodium stearate.

What is a good surfactant?

Dish soap is used as a surfactant, both when washing dishes and applying herbicide to plants. Water is repelled by oil or grease on dishes, but when soap is added the hydrophobic tail attaches to the oil while the hydrophilic head attaches to the water.

What are the uses of surfactants?

Beyond soaps and detergents, surfactants are used in lubricants, inks, anti-fogging liquids, herbicides, adhesives, emulsifiers and fabric softeners. The human body even produces surfactants, known as pulmonary surfactants.

How do surfactants disinfect?

Surfactants lower the surface tension of an aqueous solution and are used as wetting agents, detergents, emulsifiers, antiseptics, and disinfectants. Based on the position of the hydrophobic moiety in the molecule, surfactants are classified as anionic or cationic. …

How do surfactants work?

Surfactants absorb at interfaces The cohesive forces between the water molecules are very strong making the surface tension of water high. The intermolecular forces between surfactant and water molecule are much lower than between two water molecules and thus surface tension will decrease.

Why is soap a surfactant?

Soaps and detergents are made from long molecules that contain a head and tail. These molecules are called surfactants; the diagram below represents a surfactant molecule. The head of the molecule is attracted to water (hydrophilic) and the tail is attracted to grease and dirt (hydrophobic).

What are the application of surfactants?

Surfactants play an important role as cleaning, wetting, dispersing, emulsifying, foaming and anti-foaming agents in many practical applications and products, including detergents, fabric softeners, motor oils, emulsions, soaps, paints, adhesives, inks, anti-fogs, ski waxes, snowboard wax, deinking of recycled papers.

Can I use soap as a surfactant?

Dish soap is used as a surfactant, both when washing dishes and applying herbicide to plants. Essentially, a surfactant decreases the surface tension of liquids or the tension between a liquid and solid. Surfactants are comprised of many molecules of which are hydrophilic or hydrophobic.

Are surfactants harmful?

The effects of surfactants on the human body are divided into effects on the skin and into the body. The main ingredients of modern life detergents are surfactants, long-term use cause skin irritation effect and lead to some degree of damage. They haveminimal irritation to the skin.