Synthesis and defoaming properties of two sulfonate surfactants from trisiloxane

Abstract The problem of excessive foam in industrial production and everyday chemical processes causes significant problems, including compromised product quality, equipment damage and waste of water resources. Undoubtedly, the use of low-foaming surfactants represents a highly effective method to control foam formation. In this work, we have developed two novel silicone-based surfactant molecules by combining hydrosilylation reactions with metathesis reactions. These molecules use allyl diglycol carbonate, trisiloxane, sodium bisulfite and calcium chloride as primary reactants. Sodium trisiloxane sulfonate (TSS) was synthesized by hydrosilylation and sulfonation reactions, followed by a metathesis reaction with calcium chloride to form calcium trisiloxane sulfonate (TCS). The structures of the target products were characterized by FTIR and 1 H NMR. Analysis of interfacial properties showed that both surfactants have excellent surface activity, with a minimum surface tension of 22 mN m −1 for TSS. Foam performance tests showed that these two surfactants have good foam disrupting and suppressing properties in three foam systems: anionic SDBD, cationic CTAB and non-ionic AEO-9. Therefore, these two structures have the potential to be developed into defoamers to meet complex industrial challenges.