Synthesis and surface properties of chemodegradable anionic surfactants: Sodium (2‐n‐alkyl‐1,3‐dioxan‐5‐yl)sulfates

In the reaction of cis‐ and trans‐2‐n‐alky‐5‐hydroxyl‐1,3‐dioxane mixtures with SO3 · pyridine complex, followed by neutralization with sodium hydroxide or sodium carbonate, a new group of anionic surfactants, i.e., sodium cis‐ and trans‐(2‐n‐alkyl‐1,3‐dioxan‐5‐yl)sulfates were obtained. The hydrophobic intermediates used in the sulfation reaction were obtained in high yields from four‐component glycerol acetals by the process of transacetalization and selective crystallization of 1,3‐dioxane derivatives. The physical data of the new compounds and some of their surface properties, such as critical micelle concentration (CMC), effectiveness of water surface tension reduction πCMC, standard free energies of adsorption and micellization, ΔGadso and ΔGCMCo, surface excess concentration, ΓCMC, and the surface area demand per molecule, ACMC, were determined. It was shown that the surface activity of the standard anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate should be similar to the surface activity of sodium (2‐n‐decyl‐1,3‐dioxan‐5‐yl)sulfate.