This week we are launching Wikivoyage.

Join us in creating a free travel guide that anyone can edit.

Detergent
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses, see Detergent (disambiguation).

Detergents
A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with "cleaning properties in dilute
solutions."[1] These substances are usually alkylbenzenesulfonates, a family of compounds
that are similar to soap but are more soluble in hard water, because the polar sulfonate (of
detergents) is less likely than the polar carboxyl (of soap) to bind to calcium and other ions
found in hard water. In most household contexts, the term detergent by itself refers
specifically to laundry detergent or dish detergent, as opposed to hand soap or other types of
cleaning agents. Detergents are commonly available as powders or concentrated solutions.
Detergents, like soaps, work because they are amphiphilic: partly hydrophilic (polar) and
partly hydrophobic (non-polar). Their dual nature facilitates the mixture of hydrophobic
compounds (like oil and grease) with water. Because air is not hydrophilic, detergents are
also foaming agents to varying degrees.

Contents

1 Chemical classification of detergents

o 1.1 Anionic detergents
o 1.2 Cationic detergents
o 1.3 Non-ionic and zwitterionic detergents

2 Major applications of detergents

o 2.1 Laundry detergents
o 2.2 Fuel additives
o 2.3 Biological Reagent
o 2.4 Soapless soap

3 See also

4 References

5 External links

Chemical classification of detergents

Detergents are classified into three broad groupings, depending on the electrical charge of the
surfactants.

Anionic detergents
Typical anionic detergents are alkylbenzenesulfonates. The alkylbenzene portion of these
anions is lipophilic and the sulfonate is hydrophilic. Two different varieties have been
popularized, those with branched alkyl groups and those with linear alkyl groups. The former
were largely phased out in economically advanced societies because they are poorly
biodegradable.[2] An estimated 6 billion kilograms of anionic detergents are produced
annually for domestic markets.
Bile acids, such as deoxycholic acid (DOC), are anionic detergents produced by the liver to
aid in digestion and absorption of fats and oils.

Three kinds of anionic detergents: a branched sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, linear

sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, and a soap.

Cationic detergents
Cationic detergents are similar to the anionic ones, with a hydrophobic component, but,
instead of the anionic sulfonate group, the cationic surfactants have quaternary ammonium as
the polar end. The ammonium center is positively charged.[2]

Non-ionic and zwitterionic detergents

Non-ionic detergents are characterized by their uncharged, hydrophilic headgroups. Typical
non-ionic detergents are based on polyoxyethylene or a glycoside. Common examples of the
former include Tween, Triton, and the Brij series. These materials are also known as
ethoxylates or PEGylates. Glycosides have a sugar as their uncharged hydrophilic headgroup.
Examples include octyl-thioglucoside and maltosides. HEGA and MEGA series detergents
are similar, possessing a sugar alcohol as headgroup.
Zwitterionic detergents possess a net zero charge arising from the presence of equal numbers
of +1 and 1 charged chemical groups. Examples include CHAPS.
See surfactants for more applications.

Major applications of detergents

Laundry detergents
Main article: laundry detergent
One of the largest applications of detergents is for cleaning clothing. The formulations are
complex, reflecting the diverse demands of the application and the highly competitive
consumer market. In general, laundry detergents contain water softeners, surfactants, bleach,
enzymes, brighteners, fragrances, and many other agents. The formulation is strongly affected
by the temperature of the cleaning water and varies from country to country.

Fuel additives
Both carburetors and fuel injector components of Otto engines benefit from detergents in the
fuels to prevent fouling. Concentrations are about 300 ppm. Typical detergents are long-chain
amines and amides such as polyisobuteneamine and polyisobuteneamide/succinimide.[3]

Biological Reagent
Reagent grade detergents are employed for the isolation and purification of integral
membrane proteins found in biological cells. Advancements in the purity and sophistication
of detergents have facilitated structural and biophysical characterization of important
membrane proteins such as ion channels,[4] transporters, signaling receptors, and photosystem
II.[5]

Soapless soap

Soapless soap refers to a soapfree liquid cleanser with a slightly acidic pH.[6] Soapless soaps
are used in an array of products.

Borax-based washing detergent

See also

Green cleaning

Laundry detergent

Dishwashing liquid

Hard-surface cleaner

Cleavable detergent

Dispersant

References
1.

^ "IUPAC Gold Book - detergent". Goldbook.iupac.org. 2012-08-19.

Retrieved 2013-01-12.

2.

^ a b Eduard Smulders, Wolfgang Rybinski, Eric Sung, Wilfried Rhse, Josef

Steber, Frederike Wiebel, Anette Nordskog, "Laundry Detergents" in Ullmanns
Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2002, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim.
doi:10.1002/14356007.a08_315.pub2

3.

^ Werner Dabelstein, Arno Reglitzky, Andrea Schtze, Klaus Reders

"Automotive Fuels" in Ullmanns Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2002, WileyVCH, Weinheimdoi:10.1002/14356007.a16_719.pub2

4.

^ Doyle DA, Morais Cabral J, Pfuetzner RA, Kuo A, Gulbis JM, Cohen SL,
Chait BT, MacKinnon R (1998). "The structure of the potassium channel: molecular
basis of K+conduction and selectivity". Science 280(5360): 6977

5.

^ Yasufumi Umena, Keisuke Kawakami, Jian-Ren Shen & Nobuo Kamiya.

Crystal structure of oxygen-evolving photosystem II at a resolution of 1.9 A. Nature
2011; 473: 5560. doi:10.1038/nature09913

6.

^ Tyebkhan G (2002), "Skin cleansing in neonates and infants-basics of

cleansers", Indian J Pediatr 69 (9): 7679, doi:10.1007/BF02723687,
PMID 12420908.

External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Detergents

About.com: How Do Detergents Clean

Detergents and Surfactants

Campbell tips for detergents chemistry, surfactants, and history related to laundry
washing, destaining methods and soil.

View page ratings

Rate this page
What's this?
Trustworthy
Objective
Complete
Well-written
I am highly knowledgeable about this topic (optional)
Categories:

Cleaning products

Membrane-active molecules

Cleaning

Navigation menu

Create account

Log in

Article

Talk

Read

Edit

View history

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact Wikipedia

Toolbox
Print/export
Languages

Catal

esky

Deutsch

Eesti

Espaol

Euskara

Franais

Galego

Italiano

Lietuvi

Bahasa Melayu

Nederlands

Polski

Portugus

Romn

Slovenina

Suomi

Svenska

Trke

This page was last modified on 15 January 2013 at 19:07.

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;

additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.
Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit
organization.

Contact us

Privacy policy

About Wikipedia

Disclaimers

Mobile view