Nonionic surfactant properties of methoxypolyoxyethylene dodecanoate compared with polyoxyethylene dodecylether

Nonionic surfactant properties of methoxypolyoxyethylene dodecanoate [C₁₂-EFME; C₁₁H₂₃CO-(OCH₂CH₂) _n CH₃] with varying ethylene oxide (EO) adduct distributions were compared with those of polyoxyethylene dodecylether [C₁₂-alcohol ethoxylate (AE); C₁₂H₂₅O(CH₂CH₂O) _n H]. The gelling region of C₁₂-EFME was much smaller than that of C₁₂-AE due to the effects of the ester bond and the terminal methyl group. When the EO adduct distribution of EFME is narrowed, the cloud point and the ability to lower interfacial tension do not change appreciably. Other effects of narrow distribution on EFME performance include a decrease in the gellation region and better foam breaking and wetting.