Industrial grade 100%，Triton X-100 CAS 9002-93-1

What is the Triton X-100? What are its uses?

1. What is Triton X-100?

Triton X-100 is a nonionic surfactant synthesised by the addition polymerisation of octylphenol and ethylene oxide. It is also known as polyethylene glycol octylphenyl ether, octylphenol polyoxyethylene ether, octylphenol ethoxylate, OPE-n, or TX-100. It is one of the most widely used laboratory detergents and industrial emulsifying agents. Its chemical formula is often expressed as

C14H22O(C2H4O)n (n≈9-10, CAS No.: 9002-93-1, nonionic surfactant)

It is a colourless to pale yellow viscous liquid at room temperature and is soluble in water, with a relative density of about 1.06 (20℃). The Triton X-100 molecule contains a hydrophilic polyoxyethylene chain (-OCH2CH2-)n and a hydrophobic octylphenol aromatic ring, and has a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) of about 13.5, a critical micelle concentration (CMC) of about 0.22-0.24 mmol/L and a cloud point of about 65℃. It is a typical amphiphilic nonionic surfactant of "hydrophilic + hydrophobic" nature.

Structurally, Triton X-100 is amphiphilic, enabling it to lower the surface tension of aqueous solutions, wet and emulsify oil stains, and dissolve and stabilise biomolecules, making it a dual-function surfactant with industrial cleaning and biodissolution properties. Chemically stable, resistant to acids and alkalis, non-ionic, compatible with anionic, cationic and other nonionic surfactants.

Chemically, Triton X-100 is a stable nonionic surfactant which is not easily hydrolyzed and can be used over a broad pH range. It is of low toxicity but may irritate the eyes and skin. It should be mentioned that Triton X-100 is a member of the octylphenol polyoxyethylene ether (OPE-n) family and its degradation product, octylphenol (OP), has endocrine-disrupting activity. The environmental compliance of OPE-n should be monitored as the use of it in detergents and other products was restricted by the EU REACH regulation in 2021. Store in a closed container in a dry place.

The product is classified by application area, which generally includes: industrial grade (used in industrial applications such as cleaning, emulsification, textiles, and agrochemicals; typical specifications are based on active ingredient content, e.g., 98% or higher) and reagent grade (for laboratory use, requiring even higher purity). Different grades have different requirements for purity control, the following indicators are focused on:

1. Cloud point

The cloud point is an index of product hydrophilicity and service temperature range affecting formulation design and application effect and should be controlled within the indicated range.

2.pH value (1% aqueous solution)

The pH value has an effect on product properties and on compatibility with the formulation and therefore must be kept within the indicated range to ensure compatibility with cleaning and emulsifying systems.

3.viscosity and moisture

Viscosity affects ease of use and pumping efficiency, and moisture affects product stability and active ingredient levels. Both need to be kept at stable levels from batch to batch.

4.Colour (APHA)

Colour influences the downstream products and experimental results. Products must be colourless to pale yellow.

5.Free polyethylene glycol content

Free polyethylene glycol reflects the product composition and quality, and affects surface activity performance; therefore, it must be controlled within a reasonable range.

6.Limits on impurities and heavy metals

Biochemical-grade products must have limits on impurities such as heavy metals to avoid interfering with biological experiments and ensure the safety of biochemical applications.

II. What are all the uses of the Triton X-100?

Triton X-100 with its unique properties of "wetting, emulsifying, dissolving and detergency" can be used in a wide spectrum of fields like cleaning, coatings, textiles, agrochemicals, consumer chemicals, mining and electronics. Below is a full list of all applications by application area and product (none omitted):

1.Biochemistry laboratory dishwashing detergent

Triton X-100 is a nonionic detergent commonly used in biochemistry laboratories for cleaning membranes in western blots, immunoprecipitation, and extracting active plant components. It is used widely in the fields of molecular biology and biochemistry.

2. Industrial and commercial cleaners (cleaning field, core industrial applications)

Triton X-100 is used as a wetting agent and a detergency component in metal parts cleaners, electronic component cleaners, glass cleaners and commercial cleaners. It is effective at removing oil, grease and particulate contaminants and is commonly used for industrial cleaning, electronics manufacturing and commercial cleaning services.

3. Additives for coating, coating and adhesive materials (industrial, coatings and adhesives)

Triton X-100 is used as emulsifier and wetting agent for water-based coatings paints, coatings and adhesives industry, to promote the dispersion of pigments, to improve the wetting, spreading and adhesive properties. Triton X-100 is widely used in formulation of architectural coatings, industrial coatings and adhesives.

4. Emulsifier for emulsion polymerisation (industrial grade) (polymer materials field)

Triton X-100 is used as an emulsifier in emulsion polymerisation to help stabilise latex particles and control the particle size distribution. It is widely used in the manufacture of polymer emulsions such as acrylic emulsions, styrene-acrylic emulsions, and is one of the commonly used emulsifiers in the emulsion polymerisation industry.

5. Auxiliaries for textile printing and dyeing (textile industry, industrial grade)

In textile pretreatment (scouring, desizing) and in dyeing, Triton X-100 is used as a wetting agent, penetrant and levelling agent to make sure the dye liquor penetrates the fibre fast and evenly. It is used extensively in textile dyeing and finishing processes.

6. Papermaking additives (industrial grade, papermaking industry)

Triton X-100 is a wetting, dispersing and deinking aid in the pulping and papermaking processes to help improve pulp handling and paper quality. It is used in the paper and waste paper recycling industry.

7. Emulsifiers for cosmetics & daily chemical products (industrial grade in daily chemical industry)

Triton X-100 is an emulsifier and solubilizer used in some cosmetics and daily chemical products, which helps to mix oil and water and stabilise formulations. It is commonly found in skin care, body wash and shampoo formulations.

8.Mineral flotation reagents (mining industry, industrial grade)

Triton X-100 is used as foaming and wetting agent in mineral flotation to assist in improving flotation separation results and to serve the mining and beneficiation industry.

9. Agent for cleaning instruments

Triton X-100 is a laboratory glassware detergent that helps remove protein residues and organic contaminants. It is widely applied in the cleaning process in sterile supply centres and research institutions.

10.Metalworking fluid emulsifier (metalworking, industrial)

Triton X-100 is used as an emulsifying wetting agent in metal cutting fluids and metalworking fluids to help stabilise oil-water emulsions, increase cooling and lubrication performance, and serve the metalworking industry.

11.Electronic and photosensitive material additives (electronics field, industrial grade)

Triton X-100 is a cleaning aid for electronic components and a wetting and dispersing agent for photosensitive materials (developers, photosensitive emulsions). It is used to remove trace contaminants and improve coating performance in the electronics manufacturing and imaging materials industries.

It should be noted that all grades and specifications do not equate to "risk-free": Although Triton X-100 is low in toxicity, it can irritate the eyes and skin, and protective equipment should be worn during handling; its degradation product, octylphenol, has endocrine-disrupting activity, and the EU REACH regulation restricted the use of octylphenol polyoxyethylene ether in detergents and other products in 2021, so industrial applications must pay attention to environmental compliance and consider alternative solutions; all grades of products are strictly prohibited from being used as raw materials, and waste liquid must be disposed of in accordance with regulations.

Summarize

Triton X-100, also known as Triton X-100 (octylphenol polyoxyethylene ether, C14H22O(C2H4O)n, CAS No. 9002-93-1), is a colorless to pale yellow viscous liquid that is soluble in water. With its amphiphilic structure of "hydrophilic polyoxyethylene chain + hydrophobic octylphenol", it spans fields such as life sciences, cleaning, coatings, textiles, agrochemicals, daily chemicals, mining, and electronics. In daily life, we encounter it through laboratory testing, cleaning products, paints, textiles, and daily chemical products. In applications, Triton X-100 is widely used in laboratory detergents, industrial and commercial cleaning agents, coating and adhesive additives, emulsion polymerization emulsifiers, textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries, pesticide formulation auxiliaries, papermaking auxiliaries, cosmetic and daily chemical emulsifiers, mineral flotation auxiliaries, metalworking fluid emulsifiers, and electronic photosensitive material auxiliaries. It is a versatile surfactant bridging "nonionic surfactant chemistry" with "life sciences, cleaning, coatings, textiles, agrochemicals, daily chemicals, and electronics." However, the endocrine-disrupting properties of its degradation product, octylphenol, necessitate attention to environmental compliance and green alternatives.