Synthesis of a Cleavable Vanillin-Based Polyoxyethylene Surfactant and Its Pilot Application in Cotton Fabric Pretreatment

A novel series of nonionic surfactants (vanillin-1,2-octanediol acetal ethoxylates, VAEO) was synthesized. VAEO was based on natural edible flavor vanillin. These new eco-friendly surfactants contain cleavable acetal bonds which decompose easily under acidic conditions. VAEO was synthesized via a two-step reaction and its structure was characterized by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance, 13C nuclear magnetic resonance, and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. VAEO n with a series number of EO units (n = 4–12) showed good surface activities, wettability, emulsibility, and low-foaming properties, which were comparable with NPEO10 (nonylphenol ethoxylates).VAEO n were applied to cotton fabric pretreatment and satisfactory fabric performances were obtained. A pilot application of VAEO6 in cotton fabric pretreatment was successfully conducted. The capillary effect and whiteness of the treated cotton fabrics met the quality criteria well. Furthermore, the toxicity experiments showed that VAEO is a low-to-moderately toxic chemical. The rapid biodegradability test showed its biodegradation rate in 28 days is 92%. And the endocrine disrupting effects trial proved that VAEO has no endocrine-disrupting effects. Therefore, VAEO meets DfE criteria for safer surfactants.