The structure of fatty amine polyglycerol ether surfactants is shown in the figure below. Their hydrophilic groups are also composed of hydroxyl groups and ether bonds. However, the alternating arrangement of hydroxyl groups and ether bonds differs from polyoxyethylene ether nonionic surfactants, which are dominated by ether bonds. After dissolving in water, apart from forming weak hydrogen bonds between the oxygen atoms of ether bonds and hydrogen atoms in water like polyoxyethylene ether surfactants, they can also interact with water through hydroxyl groups. For this reason, fatty amine polyglycerol ether surfactants can achieve good water solubility with a small number of glycidol adducts, and their hydrophilicity is significantly superior to that of polyoxyethylene ether surfactants.
In addition, fatty amine polyglycerol ether surfactants feature the structure of organic amines, endowing them with properties of both nonionic and cationic surfactants. When the number of adducts is low, they exhibit the characteristics of cationic surfactants, such as acid resistance but alkali intolerance and certain bactericidal activity. When the number of adducts increases, their nonionic properties become more prominent. They will not precipitate in alkaline solutions and their surface activity remains intact. With enhanced nonionicity and weakened cationicity, their incompatibility with anionic surfactants is reduced, allowing the two types of surfactants to be used in combination.
Used in the washing industry
Fatty amine polyglycerol ether surfactants exhibit different properties depending on their adduct numbers. A low adduct number endows them with the characteristics of cationic surfactants, improving their solubility at low temperatures and delivering excellent detergency over a wide temperature range. When the adduct number rises, their nonionic character becomes more prominent. They will not precipitate in alkaline solutions and their surface activity remains intact. With enhanced nonionic properties and weakened cationic properties, blending them with anionic surfactants can greatly reduce surface tension and improve emulsifying and wetting capabilities. Similar to the hydrophilicity and steric hindrance effect of polyoxyethylene chains, these surfactants can also significantly inhibit the precipitation or agglomeration of detergents. In addition, fatty amine polyglycerol ethers possess softening and antistatic properties, which can effectively solve the problem of poor hand feel of fiber products after washing.
Used for pesticide emulsifiers
Besides the excellent emulsifying performance of nonionic surfactants, fatty amine polyglycerol ether surfactants also possess certain bactericidal and disinfecting properties of cationic surfactants, making them multi-functional composite surfactants. They can increase turbidity and improve solubility at low temperatures, which greatly enhances the temperature adaptability of pesticide microemulsions formulated with them. This type of composite surfactant, fatty amine polyglycerol ether, features high efficiency in forming O/W microemulsions. It helps cut down the dosage of surfactants and reduce production costs.
Prepare antistatic agent
Fatty amine polyglycerol ether surfactants can form a continuous water film on the fiber surface via hydrogen bonds between their hydrophilic groups, hydroxyl groups and water molecules, thus delivering excellent moisture absorption and conductivity. Meanwhile, they can form a hydrophobic oil film on the fiber surface to reduce fiber friction and static electricity generation, and also endow fibers with softness and smoothness. In addition, the hydrophobic segment of fatty amine polyglycerol ether surfactants is similar to that of fatty amine polyoxyethylene ether. Since glycidol instead of ethylene oxide is added to its hydrophilic segment, it features stronger hydrophilicity. Accordingly, its moisture absorption and conductive performance outperforms common polyoxyethylene ether surfactants. Furthermore, fatty amine polyglycerol ether surfactants are far less toxic and irritating than cationic surfactants, making them promising high-performance antistatic agents.
Prepare mild personal care products
In the preparation of fatty amine polyglycerol ether surfactants from glycidol, the structure of fatty amine polyglycerol ethers features alternating ether bonds and hydroxyl groups instead of being dominated by ether bonds. This prevents the formation of dioxane, making these surfactants safer than polyoxyethylene ether-type surfactants. Additionally, fatty amine polyglycerol ether surfactants contain a substantial number of hydroxyl groups, which enhance hydrophilicity, reduce irritation and deliver milder effects on the human body. Therefore, they are applied to formulate mild personal care products, especially those for infants and young children.
Application in pigment surface treatment
Studies have shown that nonionic surfactants of fatty amine type deliver excellent results in the surface modification of phthalocyanine green pigments. The favorable performance is attributed to the following reasons: such surfactants can be adsorbed onto the pigment surface by forming hydrogen bonds between the hydrogen atoms in hydroxyl groups (-OH) and amino groups (-NH) and the nitrogen atoms on the surface of phthalocyanine green pigments. Their lipophilic hydrocarbon chains then form an adsorbed coating film. This coating effectively prevents the agglomeration of pigment particles during the drying process and inhibits further crystal grain growth, ultimately yielding pigment particles with fine crystals.
When the modified pigments are placed in organic media, the hydrocarbon chains, which feature good compatibility with organic media, quickly undergo solvation to form a solvated film. This facilitates the dispersion of pigment particles and prevents flocculation when particles draw close to one another. This effect is enhanced as the hydrocarbon chains lengthen and the solvated film thickens, which helps refine pigment particles and achieve a narrow particle size distribution. The hydrophilic groups of the surfactants form a hydrated film after hydration, which also effectively hinders flocculation between pigment particles and improves their dispersibility.
Fatty amine polyglycerol ether surfactants possess higher hydrophilicity and can form thicker hydrated films. Accordingly, pigments treated with these surfactants disperse more easily in water with smaller particle sizes, indicating promising application prospects for them in the surface treatment of phthalocyanine green pigments.
Post time: May-26-2026