Question

Which of the following is not a true statement about the detergents?
A) Anionic detergents are sodium salts of sulphonated long chain alcohols or hydrocarbons.
B) Cationic detergents are quaternary ammonium salts of amines with acetates, chlorides or bromides as an ion.
C) Non-ionic detergents do not contain any ion in their constitution.
D) Detergents containing branched hydrocarbon chains are biodegradable .

Answer 1

In dilute liquids, a detergent is a surfactant or a combination of surfactants having cleaning characteristics. The most popular detergents are alkylbenzene sulfonates, a class of chemicals that are similar to soap but are more soluble in hard water because the polar sulfonate (of detergents) is less likely to bind to calcium and other ions found in hard water than the polar carboxylate (of soap).

Complete Step By Step Answer:
Detergents are a class of chemicals that have an amphiphilic structure with a hydrophilic head and a lengthy hydrophobic tail on each molecule. These compounds' hydrophobic portions might be straight or branched-chain hydrocarbons, or they can have a steroid structure. The hydrophilic part is more diverse; it can be ionic or non-ionic, and it can have a simple or complex structure. Detergents are surfactants because they can lower water's surface tension.
Sulfonated long chain alcohols or hydrocarbons are sodium salts of anionic detergents. To make anionic detergents, alkyl hydrogen sulfates are produced by processing long chain alcohols with strong sulphuric acid and then neutralised with alkali.
Quaternary ammonium salts of amines with acetates, chlorides, or bromides as anions are referred to as cationic detergents. A lengthy hydrocarbon chain and a positive charge on the nitrogen atom characterise the cationic portion. As a result, these detergents are known as cationic detergents.
Non-ionic detergents are made up of molecules that do not include any ions. When stearic acid interacts with polyethylene glycol, a detergent is created.
If the detergent has branching hydrocarbon chains, bacteria cannot easily break it, and therefore it accumulates, making it non-biodegradable.
As a result, option D is the incorrect statement.

Note:
Detergent molecules clump together to create micelles, which make them water soluble. The detergent's hydrophobic group is the fundamental driving factor behind micelle production, and its aggregation produces the micelle's hydrophobic core. Grease, protein, and soiling particles may all be removed by the micelle. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) is the concentration at which micelles begin to form, and the cloud point is the temperature at which micelles further aggregate to split into two phases, when the solution becomes cloudy and detergency is ideal.