Amino acid surfactants
AssigneeAdvanSix Resins & Chemicals LLC
InventorsEdward Asirvatham, Andrei Honciuc, Voichita Mihali
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Abstract
The present disclosure provides derivatives of amino acids that have surface-active properties. The amino acid can be naturally-occurring or synthetic, or they may be obtained via a ring-opening reaction of a lactam, such as caprolactam. The amino acid may be functionalized to form a compound that is surface-active and have advantageous surfactant characteristics. The compounds of the present disclosure have low critical micelle concentrations (CMC) as well as superior ability to lower the surface tension of a liquid.
Claims6
A method of synthesizing an amino acid surfactant, comprising the steps of:
- (1) opening a lactam to yield an amino acid having an N-terminus;
- (2) reacting the N-terminus of the amino acid with an alkylating agent to yield a tertiary amine;
- (3) reacting the tertiary amine with an alcohol under acidic conditions to yield an amino acid ester having an N-terminus;
- and
- (4) reacting the N-terminus of the amino acid ester with a sulfonating agent to yield an amino acid surfactant of the following formula:
- wherein R1 and R2 are independently chosen from C1-C6 alkyl.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.