Synthesis and Properties of Sodium Mono-Alkylamide Phthalate Surfactants

The synthesis of a series of sodium mono-alkylamide phthalate surfactants is described, and the surface activity properties of the surfactants are reported. The mono-alkylamide phthalic acids were synthesized by amidation using primary aliphatic amines (lauryl, myristyl, cetyl) and phthalic anhydride as starting material. They were structurally characterized by IR, 1 H NMR and MS. The sodium mono-alkylamide phthalate surfactants were prepared by neutralization of the precursor acids with sodium hydroxide. They reduced the surface tension of water to 30–38 mN m −1 at concentration levels of 10 −4 mol L −1 .