Non-ionic surfactants from renewables – amphiphilic ligands in biphasic reactions

Abstract

A key challenge in the synthesis of non-ionic surfactants is the opposite polarity of the substrates and the connected challenge of using homogeneous catalysis. We present the telomerisation of β-myrcene with N-methylglucamine to C₂₀-N-alkylated polyols, which show surface activity. The use of aqueous solvent systems along with amphiphilic ligands bridges the polarity gap and generates high reactivities.