Quaternary Ammonium Salts

At present, silicone products are gradually becoming a very important industrial raw material, such as silicone oil, silicone rubber, silicone oil lotion and so on. Our quaternary ammonium salt is widely used in the production of silicone, especially in the production of silicone oil lotion. However, the variety of applications is relatively concentrated, with the most commonly used being Dodecyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride and Dodecyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium bromide.     According to literature reports, the use of Cetyl trimethyl ammonium chloride, Cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide, Octadecyl trimethyl ammonium chloride, and Octadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide is also very widespread in many countries. Especially in the production of fabric finishing agents, cationic surfactants are used as emulsifiers to achieve the softness, anti-static properties, improve the texture, elasticity, smoothness, and waterproofing of fabrics, Sometimes Tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide is also used as a catalyst for the reaction. However, usually if cationic emulsifiers are used alone, the effect is not very good, resulting in oil bleaching and demulsification, and it is difficult to use them in the same bath with multiple raw materials. In order to make the lotion more stable and maintain the above characteristics, it is generally necessary to add some non-ionic surfactants (such as alkyl phenol polyoxyethylene ether) for compounding, so that the lotion obtained has the characteristics of cationic dairy industry and can ensure the stability of lotion.  

The most widely used steel material in industry undergoes varying degrees of corrosion when used in environments such as atmosphere, seawater, soil, and building materials. According to statistics, the annual loss of steel materials due to corrosion worldwide accounts for approximately one-third of its total production. In order to ensure the normal use of steel products and extend their service life, the anti-corrosion protection technology of steel has always been widely valued by people.   Hot dip galvanizing is one of the most effective methods to delay environmental corrosion of steel materials. It involves immersing cleaned and activated steel products in molten zinc solution, and coating the surface of steel products with zinc alloy coatings with good adhesion through the reaction and diffusion between iron and zinc. Compared with other metal protection methods, the hot-dip galvanizing process has unparalleled advantages in terms of the combination of physical barrier and electrochemical protection of the coating, the bonding strength between the coating and the substrate, the density, durability, maintenance-free and economic properties of the coating, and its adaptability to the shape and size of the product. The following are some applications of quaternary ammonium salts in the hot-dip galvanizing industry:          Degreasing agent: During the hot-dip galvanizing process, metal surfaces often need to be cleaned of oils, dirt, and other impurities. Quaternary Ammonium Salt can be used as a component of degreasing agents to remove organic substances from the metal surface. They have good grease-removing properties and can effectively clean the metal surface, providing a solid foundation for the galvanizing process.        Zinc salt inhibitor: Some metal surfaces may experience zinc salt dissolution issues during hot-dip galvanizing. Quaternary Ammonium Salt can be used as an additive to react with zinc salts and form insoluble quaternary ammonium zinc salts, reducing their solubility and preventing zinc loss.       Inhibitor: In the hot-dip galvanizing process, uneven coating formation, known as poor passivation, may occur on some metal surfaces. Quaternary Ammonium Salt can be used as an inhibitor by adsorbing onto the metal surface and regulating the electrode reaction rate. This helps to suppress the occurrence of poor passivation and achieve a uniform coating.       Surface modifier: Quaternary Ammonium Salt has good surface-active properties, allowing them to interact with metal surfaces and improve their wetting properties, corrosion resistance, and coating performance. During the hot-dip galvanizing process, Quaternary Ammonium Salt can be used as a surface modifier to enhance the wetting properties of the metal surface, making it easier to achieve a uniform and durable coating.

Quaternary ammonium salts play an important role in phase transfer catalysis. Phase transfer catalysis refers to a phenomenon in which a catalyst can accelerate or enable the reaction between substances that are immiscible in two different solvents (such as a liquid-liquid or solid-liquid biphasic system). During the reaction, the catalyst transfers an active species (such as a negative ion) from one phase to another, allowing it to react with the reactants. Phase transfer catalysis enables the reaction of ionic compounds with organic substances that are insoluble in water in low polarity solvents or accelerates these reactions. The catalyst facilitates the transfer of a compound that actively participates in the reaction from one phase to another, allowing it to react with the reactants. Currently, phase transfer catalysts are widely used in various areas of organic reactions, such as carbene reactions, substitution reactions, oxidation reactions, reduction reactions, diazotization reactions, displacement reactions, alkylation reactions, acylation reactions, polymerization reactions, and even polymer modification. Additionally, phase transfer catalysis has found extensive applications in industries such as pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, flavors, papermaking, tanning, and others, yielding remarkable economic and social benefits.

Gemini quaternary ammonium salts are composed by two single chain single head surfactants connected by chemical bonds at the ion head groups, which would inhibit the head group separation force in the orderly aggregation process of the surfactants, and greatly improve the surface activity with better flexibility, wettability and biodegradability. The application fields are as following:     Disinfectants, thickener, corrosion inhibitor, emulsifier, softener, papermaking assistant, etc. This series are the upgrading materials of 1231, 1631, 1831, Dioctadecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride... Therefore, Gemini surfactants are becoming the direction of many research groups in world Colloid and Interface Science fields.