Green Synthesis, Surface Activity, Micellar Aggregation, and Foam Properties of Amide Quaternary Ammonium Surfactants

A series of amide quaternary ammonium surfactants with the formula C n H2n+1CONH(CH2)2N+(CH3)3·CH3CO3- (n = 9, 11, 13, 15) were synthesized using a fatty acid, N,N-dimethylethylenediamine, and a green reagent dimethyl carbonate. A comparative study of the four surfactants in terms of surface activity, aggregation characteristics, and foam properties was conducted. The results show that these amide quaternary ammonium surfactants reduce the surface tension of water to a minimum value of 23.69 mN·m-1 at a concentration of 1.55 × 10-4 mol·L-1 and self-assemble spontaneously into aggregates, which are mostly vesicles. Furthermore, with increasing the alkyl chain length, their critical micelle concentration (CMC) values and surface tension values at the CMC (γCMC) decrease and then increase, and the degree of counterion binding (β) decreases. It is also found that these amide quaternary ammonium surfactants exhibit excellent foam ability and foam stability.