Synthesis and Evaluation of Homogeneous Sodium Hexadecyl Polyoxypropylene Ether Sulfates

Sodium fatty alcohol polyoxypropylene ether sulfates and sodium fatty alcohol polyoxyethylene ether sulfates are nonionic–anionic surfactants, and this paper is devoted to study the synthesis and evaluation of this kind of surfactants. Using 1-bromhexadecane as raw material, homogeneous sodium hexadecyl polyoxypropylene ether sulfates (APS16-n, n = 1, 2, 3) were obtained through following steps: synthesizing hexadecyl polyoxypropylene ether alcohol by Williamson reaction, then esterifying with chlorosulfonic acid and neutralizing with sodium hydroxide. Homogeneous sodium hexadecyl polyoxyethylene ether sulfates (AES16-n, n = 1, 2, 3) were synthesized in the same way for comparison. The structures of these surfactants were identified by infrared spectroscopy, 1H-NMR analysis, and elementary analysis. The equilibrium interfacial tension between the aqueous surfactant solution and model oil (n-octane, n-decane and n-dodecane) were measured at different NaCl concentrations.