Novel benzene sulfonate surfactants: Alkyl-tetralin sulfonates synthesized via coal chemical route

Abstract

Benzene sulfonate surfactants are crucial anionic surfactants, commonly derived from petrochemical sources. Herein, we present a new method for synthesizing alkyl-tetralin sulfonate anionic surfactants using α-olefins (n-hexene, n-octene, n-decene) and tetralin sourced from the coal chemical industry as raw materials. The three-resulting alkyl-tetralin sulfonates (C6-THNS, C8-THNS and C10-THNS), obtained by alkylation and sulfonation of tetralin were characterized through HPLC, FTIR, LCMS and 1H NMR techniques. Their surfactant properties were also investigated and compared with commercially applied linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS). We observed that C6 alkyl-tetralin sulfonate (C6-THNS) exhibited smaller critical micelle concentration (CMC=0.60 mM) and lower equilibrium surface tension (γCMC=33.43 mN/m). Similarly, C6-THNS also showed comparable foaming, wetting and emulsifying properties with LAS, which can be used as a substitute for LAS surfactants. This study shows that the synthesized alkyl-tetralin sulfonates is a potential surfactant, providing a route for efficiently using coal-based chemicals to synthesize surfactants.