Synthesis and properties study of novel fluorinated surfactants with perfluorinated branched ether chain

Abstract In this work, novel branched fluorinated cationic, amphoteric, gemini, amine oxide and anionic surfactants were prepared using perfluoro-2-methyl-2-pentene as starting material. All the steps were easy work-up, mild reaction conditions, low cost and high yields. The effect of salt and pH on the surface activities of the newly prepared surfactants were studied. The results showed that each surfactant boasted well surface activity (they had a reduced surface tension of water as low as 19.88 mN/m) and salt resistance. These surfactants exhibited better acid and alkali resistance except that the anionic surfactant was slightly sensitive to acid. Besides, spreading property and thermal stability of the surfactants were investigated. This series of surfactants had favorable thermal stability (most of them were stable above 200 ℃) and can spread on the oil surface at critical micelle concentrations. These excellent properties indicate that these surfactants possess good prospect for industrial applications. The synthesis method of fluorinated surfactant proposed in this paper is a very successful means.