Synthesis and Surface Activities of Novel Succinic Acid Double‐Tailed Sulfonate Fluorinated Surfactants

Abstract

AbstractIn this study, four environmentally friendly succinic acid double‐tailed sulfonate fluorinated surfactants were synthesized from maleic anhydride, fluoroalkyl alcohols, namely 1‐(1H,1H,7H‐Dodecafluoroheptyloxy) ethanol, 1‐(1H,1H,5H ‐octafluoropentyloxy) ethanol, 1‐(1H,1H,3H‐tetrafluoropropoxy) ethanol, and 1‐(1H,1H ‐trifluoroethyoxy) ethanol, and sodium hydrogensulfite. The surfactant structure was characterized by FT‐IR, 1H NMR, and 19F NMR. Thermogravimetric results showed that the fluorinated surfactants were stable up to relatively high temperature. The Krafft points of the four novel succinic acid double‐tailed sulfonate fluorinated surfactants were all below 0 °C. The lowest CMC value for the synthesized four double‐tailed fluorine surfactants is about 0.076 mmol L−1, far less than that of ammonium perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), demonstrating that double‐tailed surfactants have higher surface activity than surfactants with one fluoroalkyl chain. The replacement of alkyl groups with oxyethylene groups enhances the hydrophilicity of the obtained fluorinated surfactants. Based on these findings, the synthesized surfactants may be environmentally friendly alternatives to PFOA and exhibit promising potential in industry applications.