Synthesis and properties of branched alcohol alkoxylate sulfates

Abstract

In this study, three branched alcohol alkoxylate sulfates (C₁₀E₃S, C₁₀E₃P₃S and C₁₀P₃E₃S) were synthesized using a gas SO₃ membrane sulfonation device. Their structures were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, ESI-MS, and TGA. In order to investigate the effects of hydrophobic carbon chains, polyoxyethylene groups (EO) and polyoxypropylene groups (PO) on the product properties, the static surface tension, dynamic surface tension, contact angle, foam properties, wetting properties, and emulsification properties were tested. The results showed that C₁₀P₃E₃S exhibited a smaller maximum adsorption (1.31 μmol m⁻²). In the test of alkali wettability, C₁₀P₃E₃S also exhibited more excellent performance, indicating that it can be used as an alkali penetrant in printing and dyeing pretreatment. Meanwhile, the poor foam performance of C₁₀E₃P₃S suggests that the position of the PO group in the molecule may significantly affect its performance due to steric hindrance. Owing to the above properties, indicating C₁₀E₃P₃S is a low-foaming surfactant.