What makes a surfactant a surfactant? The answer is surprisingly straightforward; much more so than the enormous and diverse range of applications in which surfactants play a critical role. Due to their unique ability to manipulate properties such as surface tension, adsorption, precipitation and solubilization, surfactants are essential almost to every chemical system.

As stated above, the defining factor is simply that they are active at a surface or interface. But in fact, surfactants go by many names, most of which come from their wide array of applications. In emulsion technology surfactants may be called emulsifiers and dispersants. When attempting to alter surface tension and wetting, they’re called wetting agents. And in cleaning systems they may be called detergents, foaming agents or even soaps.

But in every application, the basic behavior of the surfactant is the same, and it is this basic behavior that makes them useful in such a wide range of modern technologies. Read more »