Physicochemical Properties of Amino Acid Surfactants and Their Use in Dyeing with Natural Plant Dyes

Abstract Environment-friendly green amino acid surfactants were prepared by the reaction of glutamic acid with various fatty acids (C 2 –C 14 ). These green amino acid surfactants have been found to exhibit good surface activities i.e. surface tension, foaming, wetting power and emulsifying ability. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) increases with an increase of the alkyl chain of amino acid surfactants. After 5 days the biodegradation of these amino acid surfactants was larger than 60% and consequently, the surfactants should be regarded as readily biodegradable. Finally, the green amino acid surfactants were added to natural plant dyes to test their applicability for dyeing wool fibers. The surfactant developed in this study will contribute to green and sustainability chemistry.