Yes but no -- a conventional "soapy" surfactant forms micelles, which are oriented nanospheres with a nonpolar interior and a polar exterior. A
symmetrical ion like tetrabutylammonium will not form micelles in aqueous solution.
However, the literal definition of "surfactant" is just "reduces surface tension", so under this definition I think nearly all PTC are a little bit
surfactant in that they lower surface tension. However, the surfactant property is often undesirable -- it promotes the formation of emulsions and
foams -- which is why shorter, more symmetric PTC like TEBAC and TBAB are preferred in chemistry practice, while dimethylbenzyl-long-alkyl quats, with
the usual head-tail structure and micelle formation property, are used for detergent purposes. |
