A foaming agent is a material such as a

surfactant Surfactants are chemical compounds that decrease the surface tension or interfacial tension between two liquids, a liquid and a gas, or a liquid and a solid. The word ''surfactant'' is a Blend word, blend of "surface-active agent", coined in ...

or a blowing agent that facilitates the formation of foam. A surfactant, when present in small amounts, reduces

surface tension Surface tension is the tendency of liquid surfaces at rest to shrink into the minimum surface area possible. Surface tension (physics), tension is what allows objects with a higher density than water such as razor blades and insects (e.g. Ge ...

of a liquid (reduces the work needed to create the foam) or increases its colloidal stability by inhibiting coalescence of bubbles. A blowing agent is a gas that forms the gaseous part of the foam.

Surfactants

Sodium laureth sulfate, or sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES), is a detergent and

found in many personal care products (

soap Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...

s, shampoos,

toothpaste Toothpaste is a paste or gel dentifrice that is used with a toothbrush to clean and maintain the aesthetics of Human tooth, teeth. Toothpaste is used to promote oral hygiene: it is an abrasive that aids in removing dental plaque and food from th ...

s, etc.). It is an inexpensive and effective foamer. Sodium lauryl sulfate (also known as sodium dodecyl sulfate or SDS) and ammonium lauryl sulfate (ALS) are commonly used alternatives to SLES in consumer products.Sodium Laureth Sulfate POE(2). Chemical Land 21, Seoul, Korea
Product Identification
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Co-surfactants

Surfactants which are less effective at foam production, may have additional co-surfactants added to increase foaming. In which case, the co-surfactant is referred to as the foaming agent. These are surfactants used in lower concentration in a detergent system than the primary surfactant, often the cocamide family of surfactants. Cocamide foaming agents include the nonionic cocamide DEA and cocamidopropylamine oxide, and the zwitterionic cocamidopropyl betaine and cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine.

Blowing agents

There are two main types of blowing agents: gases at the temperature that the foam is formed, and gases generated by chemical reaction.

Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

pentane Pentane is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula C5H12—that is, an alkane with five carbon atoms. The term may refer to any of three structural isomerism, structural isomers, or to a mixture of them: in the IUPAC nomenclature, h ...

, and chlorofluorocarbons are examples of the former. Blowing agents that produce gas via chemical reactions include baking powder, azodicarbonamide, titanium hydride, and isocyanates (when they react with water).

References

* {{E number infobox 990-999, state=collapsed Surfactants Foams Building materials

Surfactants

Co-surfactants

Blowing agents

See also

References