Properties and Characteristics of Two Types of Cationic Surfactants

Properties and Characteristics of Two Types of Cationic Surfactants
Cationic surfactants have an opposite charge to anionic surfactants, so we often refer to cationic surfactants as “inverse soaps”. In terms of their chemical structure, they have at least one long-chain hydrophobic group and one positively charged hydrophilic group. The long-chain hydrophobic group is usually a fatty acid or petrochemical derivative, making fatty amines an important raw material for cationic surfactants. Cationic surfactants have limited detergency, but their antimicrobial properties and affinity for hard surface adsorption are more prominent. In cosmetics, they are generally used as hair conditioners, bactericides, bacteriostats, softeners and anti-caries additives.
Fatty amine salts

Fatty amines are essentially organic bases, which are uncharged in neutral solution, this time without cationic surface activity, and are lipophilic at pH > 7. Tertiary amine salts obtained by neutralization of inorganic, or organic acids are sufficiently soluble to be fully recognized as effective cationic surfactants, and organic salts are generally more soluble in water than inorganic salts. They are rarely used in detergent and cleaning agent formulations.
The cations of the non-quaternary amine salts are very sensitive to pH, multivalent ions and electrolytes.

Ethoxylation of fatty amines produces ethoxylated amines, a surfactant that can be formulated with cationic surfactants by adjusting the pH and has better detergency.
When the fatty amine is neutralized by salicylic acid, or α-chlorobenzoic acid, the antifungal function can be improved.
Quaternary ammonium compounds in fatty amines are the most widely used class of cationic surfactants.

Quaternary ammonium salts are stable in acidic or alkaline media (<100°C). The solubility of quaternary ammonium salts is related to the chain length of alkyl chain, the longer the chain length, the lower the solubility in water, C16~C18 monoalkyl trimethyl quaternary ammonium salts are difficult to dissolve in water, soluble in polar solvents, insoluble in non-polar solvents. The dialkyl dimethyl quaternary ammonium salt is soluble in non-polar solvents and insoluble in water.
The special effects of quaternary ammonium salts are adsorption on negatively charged surfaces and sterilization. It is extremely important to note that compounding anionic surfactants, oxides, peroxides, silicates, silver nitrate, sodium citrate, sodium tartrate, borax, kaolin, proteins and some macromolecules are most likely to result in a reduction of their bactericidal power or turbidity.
The solubility of alkyl quaternary amine salts is related to the hydrophilic group, the more hydrophilic group groups, the better the water solubility. Mass fraction 5% isopropanol or mass fraction 10% aqueous solution, pH 6~9. Good chemical stability, light resistance, heat resistance, strong acid resistance, strong alkali resistance, with penetration, antistatic, bactericidal (C12~C16 the best effect) and excellent corrosion inhibition; Alkyl dimethyl quaternary amine salts have two long-chain alkyl groups as hydrophobic groups, with good softness, antistatic and some bactericidal ability, but also has a good It has good wetting and emulsifying effect, less irritation than alkyl trimethyl quaternary ammonium salt, cationic character under weak acid, and forms nonionic compound under neutral and alkaline condition.