What is a surfactant

Surfactants are a type of chemical substance, also known as interfacial surfactants, whose molecules have two incompatible parts: one is the head group with h3 hydrophilicity, and the other is the tail group with weak hydrophilicity.

Due to this unique chemical structure, surfactant molecules can form a molecular film between two incompatible media such as water/oil, gas/liquid, thereby changing the surface tension and adhesion of the media, and exhibiting various special physical and chemical properties. Surfactants are widely used in many fields, such as detergents, emulsifiers, foam agents, lubricants, stabilizers, drug delivery agents, biology and medical devices.

According to their different hydrophilicity and lipophilicity, surfactants can be divided into four types: anionic, cationic, non ionic, and zwitterionic. Among them, anionic surfactants have a negative charge on their base band and are commonly used in the manufacturing of cleaning products such as detergents and soaps; The head base band of cationic surfactants has a positive charge and is commonly used in the manufacturing of products such as softeners and fungicides; The head and tail groups of non ionic surfactants do not carry charges and are commonly used in the manufacturing of products such as emulsifiers, stabilizers, and preservatives; The head and tail groups of zwitterionic surfactants carry charges, and their aqueous solutions have good buffering properties, commonly used in the manufacturing of biopharmaceutical products.

It should be noted that when using surfactants, appropriate types and concentrations should be selected based on the actual situation to avoid unnecessary environmental and health issues.