Detergents help clean by dispersing fats and oils in water so that they can be rinsed away. What general chemical structures (for example, polar or nonpolar parts) must a soap or detergent have, and why?
To determine:
The general chemical structures that the soaps or detergents have, along with reasons.
Concept introduction:
Soaps and detergents are important for cleaning oils and dispersing fats in the presence of water. Then the dirt would be rinsed away. Soap is a mixture of salts (sodium and potassium) of fatty acids. It is composed when oils or fats react with an alkali by saponification. Detergent is a mixture of surfactants (alkyl benzenesulfonates) in which cleaning properties are present in dilute solutions.
Explanation of Solution
A soap and detergent having cleansing action rely heavily on the polar and non-polar structures among the solubility principles. An ideal soap or detergent must contain a long non-polar and hydrophobic hydrocarbon chain. Its polar end should contain the soluble salt of an alkali metal, such as sodium, potassium, or other.
The long hydrocarbon chain is non-polar and hydrophobic. Soap has ionic and hydrophilic “salt” end. The detergents have sodium salts composed of long-chain benzene sulphonic acids or alkyl sulfate.
Thus, cleansing action of soaps and detergents can identified through the polar and non-polar structures based on their solubility principles.
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