What are detergents in chemistry?
A detergent is a surfactant or mixture of surfactants that has cleaning properties in dilute solution with water. Like soaps, detergents are amphiphilic, meaning they have both hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions. Most detergents are akylbenzenefulfonates.
What is soft soap in chemistry?
Soft soap may refer to: Soap that is liquid or easily soluble, usually made by saponification with potassium instead of the more typical sodium hydroxide. Softsoap, trade name of a liquid soap product.
What is the chemical reaction of soap?
Saponification is the name of the chemical reaction that produces soap. In the process, animal or vegetable fat is converted into soap (a fatty acid) and alcohol. The reaction requires a solution of an alkali (e.g., sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide) in water and also heat.
How do you describe detergent?
Detergent is a substance that’s used for cleaning. Detergent is similar to soap, but it’s stronger and dissolves more completely in water. Detergents are special, powerful cleansers that can break up dirt, oils, and grease in clothing or on dishes. The Latin root of detergent is detergere, “to wipe away or cleanse.”
Is detergent ionic or covalent?
Detergent molecular structures consist of a long hydrocarbon chain and a water soluble ionic group. Most detergents have a negative ionic group and are called anionic detergents. The majority are alky sulfates. Others are “surfactants” (from surface active agents) which are generally known as alkyl benzene sulfonates.
What is soft soap answer?
soft soap. noun. Definition of soft soap (Entry 2 of 2) 1 : a semifluid soap made especially from potassium hydroxide. 2 : flattery.
Is soap a product of chemistry?
Soap is a cleansing and lubricating product that is the result of a very specific chemical reaction called saponification. Soap is a cleansing and lubricating product that is the result of a very specific chemical reaction called saponification.
Is soap ionic or covalent?
Sodium stearate (a white solid) is the most common type of soap. Each molecule consists of a long non-polar covalent hydrocarbon ‘tail’ and a polar, ionic ‘head’ where the charge is.