Solution Structures in Mixtures of an Oleo-furan Sulfonate with Anionic and Nonionic Surfactants

Anionic surfactants such as linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) are the most used and best characterised commercial surfactants used in detergent products but involve the use of petrochemicals or expensive oil feedstocks in their synthesis, making them an unsustainable option for the future. This has led to a move towards biobased and renewable surfactants, such as the oleo-furan sulfonates, however the physico chemical properties of these surfactants have not yet been studied. We aim to study the structures formed by a C14-tail oleo-furan sulfonate surfactant in binary and ternary mixed surfactant micelles with typical nonionic and anionic surfactants in dilute solutions, in order to link surfactant structures, micelle composition, aggregate morphology and properties such as emulsification, cleaning and foaming abilities.