Nonionic Surfactants

Nonionic surfactants (also known as non-ionic surface-active agents) are a type of surfactants that do not dissociate into ions in water and function in a neutral molecular state. They are electrically neutral and relatively non-toxic. They acquire hydrophilicity by forming hydrogen bonds with water through ether bonds (-O-), hydroxyl groups (-OH), amide groups (-CONH₂), etc. The main types of nonionic surfactants include polyoxyethylene ether type, fatty acid ester type, alkyl glycoside (APG) type, alcohol amide type, and polyether/silicone ether modified types. Nonionic surfactants are resistant to strong electrolytes, acids, bases, and hard water. Their formulations have strong adaptability and have good compatibility and synergistic enhancement effects with anionic, cationic, and amphoteric surfactants. At the same time, nonionic surfactants have low irritation to the skin and eyes, good biodegradability, and are a mild and environmentally friendly type of surfactant. It is widely believed that among different types of surfactants, nonionic surfactants cause the least irritation to the skin. Moreover, nonionic surfactants can precisely adjust the hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance value (HLB) by changing the number of polyoxyethylene (EO) units or the degree of substitution of polyols, to meet different emulsification, wetting, or cleaning requirements.

Non-ionic surfactants, due to their advantages such as mildness, resistance to hard water, and good compatibility, are widely used in personal care, industrial cleaning, agriculture, food, medicine and other fields. They have now become the type of surfactants with the largest production volume and the widest application range.

● Cosmetics and Personal Care: It can be used as laundry detergent, baby shampoo, makeup remover, facial cleanser, etc. It has advantages such as being mild and non-irritating, and having strong foam.

● Industrial Cleaning: It is used for metal degreasing, industrial facility cleaning, industrial substrate cleaning, CIP cleaning, boiler cleaning, high-pressure spray cleaning, etc.

● Leather industry: Used for leather tanning and leather fat processing to enhance the quality of the leather. The use of polyoxyethylene ether type non-ionic surfactants will make the leather feel better, look smoother and have brighter colors.

● Coal industry: As a mineral flotation agent, it is used to obtain high-purity clean coal; non-ionic surfactants with low HLB values, such as polyol esters, are mainly used in coal production.

● Medical treatment: In the medical field, it is widely used as an emulsifier, antioxidant, anticoagulant and solubilizer. For example, dehydrated sorbitol, poly(ethylene oxide) type, etc. can be used as emulsifiers for intravenous injection solutions, etc.

● Food industry: As an emulsifier, for example, food-grade Tween-80 can be used as an emulsifier for ice cream to enhance the stability of the texture.

● Agriculture: Used as a penetrant, it enables the pesticide to quickly spread on the leaf surface of plants, enhancing the efficacy and reducing the amount of pesticide used.