“Surfactant” is just a contraction of the phrase “SURFace ACTive Agent”. What is it that makes a surfactant a surfactant? The answer is surprisingly simple; much simpler than the multitude of applications where surfactants play a critical role. In the presentation linked below, with notes, you will discover that surfactants go by many names. Those names often come from the applications. In emulsion technology surfactants may be called emulsifiers. In foams they may be called foaming agents. In cleaning systems they may be called detergents or even soaps. But in every application, the basic behavior of the surfactant is the same, and it is this basic behavior that makes them useful in such a wide range of modern technologies. And what makes them surfactants is that they are active at interfaces (surfaces).
What is a Surfactant?
A brief overview and introduction to the science and application of surfactants.
Surfactants, Part I: Fundamentals
Surfactants are important, or even crucial, in a wide variety of phenomena, including wetting, surface tension reduction, micelle formation, solubilization of organic solutes in micelles, emulsificaiion, dispersion formation, adjusting solution rheology, and foaming. The purpose of this article is to outline the important physical behavior of surfactants, primarily in aqueous solution, because this is where most studies have been done.
Surfactants, Part II: Applications
Surfactants are used in many applications, including consumer products, industrial products and processes, and environmental remediation. The total annual value of surfactants is on the order of $6B. As an example of the commercial importance of applications in which surfactants are crucial, the worldwide annual market for detergent or cleaning products, in which surfactants are an important component, is approximately $100B. The two articles on Surfactants on this page are split in “Fundamentals” and "Applications," with this article discussing applied aspects of surfactant behavior. The purpose of this article is to extend the discussion of fundamental surfactant behavior from Part I, to discuss some applications, like detergency and surfactant-based separations, and to describe environmental aspects of surfactants that influence their use in applications.
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Surfactants and Interfacial Phenomena, , 3rd Ed., M.J. Rosen, Wiley-Interscience, New York, 2004
Surfactants: Chemistry and Properties, , A. J. O’Lenick, Jr., Allured Publishing Corp., Carol Steam, Illinois, 1999
Handbook of Surfactants, , 2nd Edition, edited by M. R. Porter, Blackie, London, 1994
Surfactants: A Practical Handbook, , K. R. Lange, Hanser Gardner, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1999
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The Colloidal Domain: Where Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Technology Meet, , D. F. Evans and H. Wennerström, Eds., VCH, 1994.
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