Preparation and surface active properties of biodegradable dextrin derivative surfactants

A series of dextrin derivative surfactants has been prepared by the reaction of the propylene glycol polyglucosides with a hydrophobic oxirane-containing material of the glycidyl ether. These surfactants have been found to exhibit inherently fine surface activities including surface tension, low-foaming and wetting power. These surfactants also exhibit a nice ability to improve the whiteness and the wetting power of cotton fabrics in a hydrogen peroxide bleaching system. The benefit of these dextrin derivatives surfactants are their highly biodegradable properties which are lacking in traditional surfactants. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.