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Sigma KEE - Surfactant
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surfactant
Surfactants, also known as Wetting agents, lower the surface tension of a Liquid, allowing easier spreading. The term surfactant is a compression of 'Surface active agent'. Surfactants are usually organic compounds that contain both hydrophobic and hydrophilic groups, and are thus semi-soluble in both organic and aqueous solvents.
Relationships      
Parents substance An Object in which every part is similar to every other in every relevant respect. More precisely, something is a Substance when it has only arbitrary pieces as parts - any parts have properties which are similar to those of the whole. Note that a Substance may nonetheless have physical properties that vary. For example, the temperature, chemical constitution, density, etc. may change from one part to another. An example would be a body of water.
Children detergentA detergent is a compound, or a mixture of compounds, whose molecules have two distinct regions: one that is hydrophilic, and dissolves easily in water, and another region that is hydrophobic, with little (if any) affinity for water. As a consequence, these compounds can aid in the solubilization of hydrophobic compounds in water, and usually are optimized for this property. Though Soap also has these properties, soaps in general are not considered detergents. Soap is a particular type of surfactant that is derived from oils and fats. They are created through the saponification process whereby the ester linkage in a vegetable oil or fat is hydrolytically cleaved, creating a sodium or potassium salt of a fatty acid (i.e. soap). Both detergents and soaps are considered to be surfactants. Surfactants that are not soaps are considered to be detergents. Detergents are also commonly known as any cleaning mixture containing surfactants. (from Wikipedia)
 soapSoap is a Surfactant Cleaning mixture used for personal or minor cleaning. It usually comes in solid moulded form. In the developed world, synthetic detergents have superseded soap as a laundry aid. Many soaps are mixtures of sodium or potassium salts of fatty acids which can be derived from oils or fats by reacting them with an alkali (such as sodium or potassium hydroxide) at 80-100 degrees Celsius in a process known as saponification. (from Wikipedia)


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