Question

What is a non-ionic surfactant?

Answer 1

Surfactants are those compounds that are used in the cleaning purposes and it includes two things, i.e., soaps and detergents. There are three types of surfactants, i.e., cationic surfactants, anionic surfactants, and non-ionic surfactants based on the charge of the molecules present in them.

Complete step-by-step answer: Surfactants are those compounds that are used for cleaning purposes. The functioning of the surfactants is as the concentration of the substances at the surface of the interface to form surface films, reducing surface tension that will help in removing dirt and dust by emulsifying grease.
A surfactant is a long chain molecule in which there are two parts, i.e., hydrophilic (water-soluble) and Lyophilic (oil or fat-soluble).
Soaps and detergents are two types of surfactants. Based on the charge on the molecules we can also classify the surfactants as cationic surfactants, anionic surfactants, and non-ionic surfactants.
Non-ionic surfactants are those in which the ions are absent. These are neutral molecules and actually, they are the esters of high molecular mass alcohols. Some examples of non-ionic surfactants are Polyethylene glycol stearate whose formula is $C{{H}_{3}}{{(C{{H}_{2}})}_{16}}COO{{(C{{H}_{2}}C{{H}_{2}}O)}_{n}}C{{H}_{2}}C{{H}_{2}}OH$, lauryl alcohol ethoxylate whose formula is $C{{H}_{3}}(C{{H}_{2}})C{{H}_{2}}{{(OC{{H}_{2}}C{{H}_{2}})}_{8}}OH$, etc.
Many of the non-ionic surfactants have alcohol at the end of the molecule which makes the non-ionic compound soluble in water due to the formation of the hydrogen bonding.

Note: Surfactants are those compounds that are used for cleaning purposes. The functioning of the surfactants is as the concentration of the substances at the surface of the interface to form surface films, reducing surface tension that will help in removing dirt and dust by emulsifying grease.
A surfactant is a long chain molecule in which there are two parts, i.e., hydrophilic (water-soluble) and Lyophilic (oil or fat-soluble).
Soaps and detergents are two types of surfactants. Based on the charge on the molecules we can also classify the surfactants as cationic surfactants, anionic surfactants, and non-ionic surfactants.
Non-ionic surfactants are those in which the ions are absent. These are neutral molecules and actually, they are the esters of high molecular mass alcohols. Some examples of non-ionic surfactants are Polyethylene glycol stearate whose formula is $C{{H}_{3}}{{(C{{H}_{2}})}_{16}}COO{{(C{{H}_{2}}C{{H}_{2}}O)}_{n}}C{{H}_{2}}C{{H}_{2}}OH$, lauryl alcohol ethoxylate whose formula is $C{{H}_{3}}(C{{H}_{2}})C{{H}_{2}}{{(OC{{H}_{2}}C{{H}_{2}})}_{8}}OH$, etc.
Many of the non-ionic surfactants have alcohol at the end of the molecule which makes the non-ionic compound soluble in water due to the formation of the hydrogen bonding.