Application of Oxidative Fatty Acid Esters in Amino Acid Surfactants

Abstract The amino acid surfactants were synthesized by using natural fatty acid esters (FAE) as raw materials, but FAE with a high iodine value has thermal and oxidative instabilities in chemical reactions. The oxidation of FAE by peroxyacetic acid generated was studied under various conditions, then the oxidized FAE and different amino acids (glycine, glutamic acid and aspartic acid) were used to form sodium N-acyl amino acids in glycerol. By the surface tension method, the relationship between temperature and critical micelle concentration (CMC) has been researched. The CMC value, the surface tension at the CMC (γ CMC ), and the maximum surface excess concentration Γ max were calculated, respectively. For different amino acids surfactants, the surface tension of the solution was greatly reduced at the low CMC value, and the γ CMC constantly decreases with rising temperature.