MONODISPERSE PERFLUORO-POLYETHOXYLATED AMPHIPHILIC COMPOUNDS WITH 2-CHAIN POLAR HEAD - PREPARATION AND PROPERTIES

Monodisperse new surfactant molecules with a two-chain polyoxyethylene (EO) hydrophilic head and a per fluoroalkyl hydrophobic moiety linked together through an amide bond are synthesized by methods allowing large-scale production. Surface tension measurements (gamma-approximately-20 mN.m-1) show slow organization of the surfactant film at the water/air interface for longer fluorocarbon tail. Values of critical micellar concentrations and comparisons with monosubstituted amide surfactants are consistent with a high hydrophilicity of the amide function, a small influence of branching over hydrophilicity, and a hydrophobicity of each CF2 unit equivalent to 1.7 methylenes (in the analogous hydrogenated surfactants).