Novel benzene sulfonate surfactants: Alkyl-tetralin sulfonates synthesized via coal chemical route

Benzene sulfonate surfactants are crucial anionic surfactants, commonly derived from petrochemical sources. Herein, we present a new method for synthesizing alkyl-tetralin sulfonate anionic surfactants using α-olefins (n-hexene, n-octene, n-decene) and tetralin sourced from the coal chemical industry as raw materials. The three-resulting alkyl-tetralin sulfonates (C6-THNS, C8-THNS and C10-THNS), obtained by alkylation and sulfonation of tetralin were characterized through HPLC, FTIR, LCMS and 1 H NMR techniques. Their surfactant properties were also investigated and compared with commercially applied linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS). We observed that C6 alkyl-tetralin sulfonate (C6-THNS) exhibited smaller critical micelle concentration ( CMC =0.60 mM) and lower equilibrium surface tension ( γ CMC =33.43 mN/m). Similarly, C6-THNS also showed comparable foaming, wetting and emulsifying properties with LAS, which can be used as a substitute for LAS surfactants. This study shows that the synthesized alkyl-tetralin sulfonates is a potential surfactant, providing a route for efficiently using coal-based chemicals to synthesize surfactants.