Sulfates and sulfonates have two things in common. First, they're all
anionic surfactants. Second, they are often used for personal care applications. But there are many differences. They have different molecular mechanisms. They have different functions and they have different raw materials.
Sulfates
Sulfate is a compound. It has carbon bonds and oxygen and sulfur bonds. They include substances such as sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium lauryl ether sulfate.
At low pH, these substances plus the c-o-s bond hydrolyze to produce alcohol and inorganic sulfate. At a high pH, sulfate is stable in the base and, if ethoxylated to a relatively high level, produces a low-foaming alkali-soluble surfactant. Sulphates can be prepared by reaction of fatty alcohol or fatty alcohol ethoxylates with reagents such as SO3 or chlorosulfonic acid (CSA).
The reason shampoo becomes thick foam in the shower is that it contains sulfate. Most shampoos and household cleansers contain sulfate, but it is not popular for frizzy hair (especially curly hair) to work and damage colored hair.
Sulfonates
Sulfonate is a compound that has a carbon-sulfur bond. The sulfonates contain cystos-olefin sulfonates (AOS). The bond is stable in a range that allows greater pH, so it can be used in an acidic environment. The reaction of pso 3 and pso 3 can produce pso - olefin sulfonate.
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