
Thread 118/53p2
List of anionic, cationic and non-ionic surfactants
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Q. Sir, I'm a research scholar of chemistry; could you please tell me the substitute of sodium dodecyl sulphate or sodium lauryl sulphate.
varsha singh- indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
publicly reply to varsha singh
Q. Can you please tell me under which category Synperonic acid surfactant will fall?
Raghu Mamindla- Sheffield, UK
April 22, 2012
publicly reply to Raghu Mamindla
Q. Dear sir, I am doing my m.phil physics in periyar university salem. I have a doubt: how can I identify the category of surfactants?
Priyadharsini- salem, tamilnadu, India
May 1, 2012
publicly reply to Priyadharsini
Q. I am a research scholar in chemistry. I am working on surfactant. So please tell me the micellisation point of N-Octyl amine surfactant.
Niraja Kedia- Purulia, West Bengal, India
June 25, 2012
publicly reply to Niraja Kedia
Ed. note: This thread received two generous answers early-on. But since then, we've posted 20 questions in a row. C'mon now, folks, you probably know enough to give a hint on one of those unanswered questions. Thanks!
Q. Dear sir,
I am a master research student in chemistry. Currently I'm working on a project of nano-emulsion water emulsified diesel-biodiesel (palm methyl ester) in diesel engine application. The characteristics of desired novel surfactant is from plant base such as palm oil, which means it does no harm to the environment but yet it is able to form water in oil emulsion and in nano size and also easy to combust. In order to get those characteristics I have tried fatty alcohol ethoxylate. Raw material that rich in oxygen group can enhance the combustion efficiency process; besides biodiesel contains a water addition in the system. This emulsification method based on low energy by using titration method. However in most of my findings in reading materials, they are using blending emulsification methods such as high homogenizer pressure which means use of high energy. For this moment, I'm still in screening process to figure out the best non-ionic surfactant that is able to form water in oil emulsion in nano size. Would you kindly give me some suggestion and a list of non-ionic surfactants that can help me to figure out the solution? I thank you in advance for your attention and co-operation.
Postgraduate student - Malaysia
August 27, 2012
publicly reply to Atiqah Ishak
Q. Hi Drs., Hope you will be happy and good. I want to know that I am doing work with ZnO and getting different morphologies for gas sensing using hydrothermal method. I want to know which surfactant can be good that I can use getting better results? And suggest some methods to prepare it also, thanks. I'm doing Ph.D in material Science in China.
Hussain Shahid- china
October 15, 2012
publicly reply to Hussain Shahid
Q. Sir, we have read so many research papers for determination of surfactant through dye in visible range. But, is it possible to determine presence of surfactant (SdS and CTAB) through U-V range? because we wish to work on this method.
Manisha AgrawalTeaching - Bhilai, India
November 2, 2012
publicly reply to Manisha Agrawal
Q. Dear Sir
I am trying develop a formulation with hydrated silica solution and essential oil in a liquid form. Can any expert help me to suggest with some suitable emulsifier to get a homogeneous and stable emulsion.
- Bangalore, India , Karnataaka
June 10, 2013
publicly reply to Swapan Ghosh
Q. Sir. I am into production of compact detergent powders and liquid. I request you to suggest me an eco-friendly surfactant which I can add as active matter.
sudarshan srinivasansoaps and detergents - Chennai , tamilnadu, India
November 16, 2013
publicly reply to sudarshan srinivasan
A. As I have gone through above question, you all are mostly looking for Nonionic Surfactant; I will suggest as per my work on same research (NONYLPHENOXYPOLYETHOXYETHANOL) NONIONIC SURFACTANT
This is the best one to use for the same and it is biodegradable.
- Abu Dhabi, UAE
December 23, 2014
publicly reply to Murtaza Sherwani
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Ed. note: Thank you, Murtaza!
Q. Is there a chemical test to check if the emulsifier is anionic or non ionic?
Shahed
- Karachi, Sindhi, Pakistan
May 3, 2015
publicly reply to Shahid aziz
Q. I am working on using a kind of nonionic surfactants as antifoam.
Therefore I would like to get your help to have a list of nonionic surfactant as defoamer.
Thanks.
- tehran, Iran
September 27, 2015
publicly reply to nayere mousavi
A. It is my understanding that some low HLB non-ionic surfactants behave as antifoams because they are partially insoluble - in other words the solution/suspension is above the cloud point of the surfactant. This is a dangerous road to travel in metal finishing. Been there, done that.

Tom Rochester
CTO - Jackson, Michigan, USA
Plating Systems & Technologies, Inc.


September 30, 2015
publicly reply to Tom Rochester
Q. Sir, I want to replace sodiumoleate with different non ionic surfactants , please suggest me some surfactants for replacement (I am a researcher at GCU Lahore in M.Phill)
syed ali adnan- lahore, Pakistan
September 29, 2015
publicly reply to syed ali adnan
A. Hi Syed,
You may try polyglycol.
Regards,
David

David Shiu
- Singapore
October 14, 2015
publicly reply to David Shiu
Q. If am working on polymers; which surfactants are suitable for functionalisation?
Fatima TariqFatima Jinnah Women University - Rawalpindi,Punjab,Pakistan
November 22, 2015
publicly reply to Fatima Tariq
Q. I am working on foaming agents and would like to know if Alkoxylated Phosphate Ester is cationic or anionic?
Paritosh DhimanUAF - Fairbanks, Alaska, Fairbanks
December 9, 2015
publicly reply to Paritosh Dhiman
Q. Sir I'm Ph.D student and want the surfactant with their miceller size. Can you help me by providing that one?
Atul soni- palampur,himachalpradesh, India
December 28, 2015
publicly reply to Atul soni
Q. Hi sir
Can you please tell any cationic surfactant to overcome staining problem in washing of 100% nylon fabric printed with acid dye. I shall be thankful to you.
national textile university Faisalabad - multan Punjab Pakistan
January 13, 2016
publicly reply to fatima gardezi
A. I know enough about surfactants to know that any and all of them would be good enough for a lot of general cleaning conditions.
I don't know enough about surfactants to say how the cleaning properties are affected by the large number of variations that can be found in the physical structure of surfactant molecules across the industry. I suspect that is largely true for everyone who isn't a chemical engineer at a surfactant manufacturer.
I would suggest to folks here with questions on surfactants to actually go directly to the surfactant manufacturers. The product literature on their websites usually gives at least a vague sense of how their different products are expected to behave, and you can always contact them directly, describe your problem, and ask which product they recommend.

Ray Kremer
Stellar Solutions, Inc.

McHenry, Illinois

January 15, 2016
publicly reply to Ray Kremer
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But every once in a while we get a thread where dozens of posters aren't helping each other. Then we remind folks that this is not some sort of free consulting service, but a place of camaraderie, aloha, & mutual assistance. And if the list of unanswered questions grows relentlessly anyway, it can become time to close the thread and stop being silly :-) Regards, ![]() Ted Mooney, P.E. RET Striving to live Aloha finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey January 2016 publicly reply to Ted Mooney January 16, 2016 Good day Ted.
Regards, ![]() Ted Mooney, P.E. RET Striving to live Aloha finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey January 2016 publicly reply to Ted Mooney ! Wow, just wow. I stumbled across this while looking for some info on a cosmetic emulsifier and (though not really relevant to my search) kept reading with a kind of fascinated horror at the number of people who ask for the world, with no word of thanks or acknowledgement of how much they are asking. You guys/mods here are polite, I would have sent some of these folks packing and closed the thread. - Los Angeles, California April 4, 2016 publicly reply to B. Bose
Regards, ![]() Ted Mooney, P.E. RET Striving to live Aloha finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey April 2016 publicly reply to Ted Mooney April 20, 2016
Additionally, I found this article to be very helpful in my inquiry interested elder - Canberra ACT Australia publicly reply to Adele Main Hi Adele. Thanks for your kind assessment and for the link! Regards, ![]() Ted Mooney, P.E. RET Striving to live Aloha finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey February 2017 publicly reply to Ted Mooney
PI - Bhagalpur INDIA February 20, 2017 publicly reply to Ravi Prakash Hi cousin Ravi. This site has 50,000 topics, and I've tried to help on thousands of them. But I know absolutely nothing of surfactants; so all I can do as site administrator is urge people to try to answer. I appreciate when people look kindly on the site; and when they don't like it, I try to improve things -- so thanks for the suggestion. But ad hominem comments aren't a good reason for readers to spend their limited time here ... so please offer a question or answer. Thanks again. Regards, ![]() Ted Mooney, P.E. RET Striving to live Aloha finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey February 2017 publicly reply to Ted Mooney |
A? : hopefully...
Okay, although both questions are long past, others still might be seeking answers. I can only say the following information is from my actual experience & may NOT be something one would find in a chemistry or engineering text and possibly not relevant to metal finishing?, But still, to my best knowledge, true:
RE:the Q. of Swapan Ghosh, posted: 06/10/13, RE: the suitable emulsifier to get homogeneity & stability for combining a hydrated silica solution & essential oil(s);
If he had succeeded in incorporating the silica (dissolution as vs. dispersion), I'd recommend polysorbate 20 for the volatiles..however, instead of using a 1:1 ratio of the solubilizer & the ess. oils, I'd begin there, but be willing to increase by a factor of @ least 3x as much poly20 as ess. oils..the objective being an attempt @ a clear solution(if this is even possible w/the silica present-although it should be a simple matter depending on the initial method used to solvate the hydrated silica).
RE:the Q. of Fatima Tariq, posted: 11/22/15, RE: which surfactants are suitable for use w/ polymers for functionalization; if working w/the polymer, carbomer, one can sometimes successfully neutralize & open up the coils, in order to create an elegant rheological structure, using the high pH surfactant, Decyl Glucoside, in place of the conventional sodium hydroxide, or TEA (although, I'm unsure how long a formula like this will retain its shape & thickness; one would have to experiment).
That's all I have. I hope its of some assistance, even if just for joke-fodder...
best regards to you all, truly an enlightening thread & forum, thank you for your time and attention, much love, suki
Student/Formulator phytopharmacy/chemistry - Portland, Oregon, USA
publicly reply to suki miller
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Ed. note: Thanks so much, Suki!
Q. Hi all...
Liked the forum. Can anybody tell me what are the commercial non-ionic surfactants available in market? If anyone knows, please reply. Good luck to all of you.
- Salem, tamil nadu, India
February 17, 2018
publicly reply to Neethu Asokan
A. Hi Neethu,
You can look for Dr. Saha's answer up in this very page, he lists very thoroughly a very large number of substances used as non-ionic surfactants.
They are esters, alcohols, amides and polyethers of fatty acids, and have a very long alyphatic "tail" and a polar "head" in its molecular structure. One part of the structure is hydrophilic and the other part is hydrophobic. This basic construction is the base for surface active substances, or "surfactants" :)
Best regards,
TEL - N FERRARIS - Cañuelas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
February 19, 2018
publicly reply to Daniel Montañés
Thanks Daniel. I was thinking Neethu wants brand names / trade names, but maybe you interpreted his question better than I did :-)
Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
publicly reply to Ted Mooney
Q. I want to know the method to determine Active matter of anionic surfactant specially triethanol lauryl sulphate
STERLING AUXILIARIES PVT LTD - BHARUCH ,Gujarat , INDIA , ASIA
March 1, 2018
publicly reply to Dattatray Gharge
Q. Hi Sir, I am PhD Scholar in Pharmacy. I am working on Solid Lipid Nanoparticles formulation for skin, which nature surfactants should be used e.g. (nonionic, ionic, cationic etc.) which are compatible with the skin nature?
Can I use nonionic+ionic or cationic in combination?
Thanks
Research Scholar - Swat, Pakistan
March 2, 2018
publicly reply to Mian Raheem Bahadar
A. If you are looking for a book with this type of information I strongly recommend McCutcheons' Emulsifiers and Detergents. It is updated every year.

Tom Rochester
CTO - Jackson, Michigan, USA
Plating Systems & Technologies, Inc.


March 4, 2018
publicly reply to Tom Rochester
Q. Hey I ask about definition of "amino basic surfactant" and an example of it.
mohamed saleh nasrscience banha uni - zefta garbya egypt
March 15, 2018
publicly reply to mohamed saleh nasr
Q. Hello! Thank you for providing list of surfactants.
I am a student of civil engineering and pursuing my degree and also doing patent work on bitumen emulsions.
So I want list of CATIONIC BITUMEN EMULSIONS which can help me to make my project fast.
Thank you guys !
Civil engineering - Rajkot, Gujarat, India
September 8, 2018
publicly reply to Harit Upadhyay
September 9, 2018
Q. How do negate or counteract an anionic surfactant in milk test? Sale barns use this to judge if a cow is good or bad, but they abuse the CMT milk test, and many good cows go to beef market cheap.
Joseph petersondairy farmer - arpin wisconsin usa
publicly reply to Joseph peterson
Q. I am a research scholar. I need surfactant for nanoparticle + POE oil. Nanoparticles are MgO, SiC, SiN.
mansoor [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]Scholar - anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, India
October 20, 2018
publicly reply to mansoor
Q. Dear sir
I am searching suitable surfactants for dispersing nano particles (ZnO or TiO2) in water-based paint; please tell me what kind is OK and what is the way and method of application?
the best
PAMPA - Tehran , IRAN
November 12, 2018
publicly reply to narges saffarian
Surfactants (water in oil)
Q. I am working on emulsifiers/surfactants. If anybody knows please share best surfactant for oil paint (water in oil). Single or blend of surfactants.
NP40 is suitable for subject purpose?
- Pakistan
July 30, 2019
publicly reply to Muhammad Imran
Q, A, or Comment on THIS thread -or- Start a NEW Thread