Synthesis and Characterization of Glucosamide Surfactant

The synthesis and structural analysis of glucosamide surfactants of the general formula C n H 2n+1 NH(CH 2 ) 2 NHCO(CHOH) 4 CH 2 OH ( n = 8, 10, 12) are described, and the surface activity properties of the surfactants are studied. N -alkylethylenediamines were synthesized by the alkylation of the ethylenediamine with alkyl bromide. The glucosamide surfactants, N -alkyl- N ′-glucosylethylenediamine (C n GA), were prepared by amidation of the precursor diamine with d -gluconic acid δ-lactone. They were structurally characterized by IR, 1 H NMR and MS. They reduced the surface tension of water to approximately 26–27 mN m −1 at concentration levels of (0.5–1.6) × 10 −3 mol L −1 .