Question

how does the anionic detergent differ from the cationic detergent in its structure. give the structure of an anionic and cationic detergent

Answer 1

Detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants, which helps in cleansing by forming micelle with its lipophilic tails all directing at the centre and its hydrophilic head in contact with the solvent. Detergents can be anionic, cationic, non-ionic or zwitter ionic. The hydrophilic head of the anionic detergent (usually a sulfonate group) is negatively charged whereas that of the cationic detergent (usually an ammonium group) is positively charged. The lipophilic tails in almost all of the detergents are either a long or branched carbon chain.