Abstract
The growing need for sustainable natural-based surfactants from green chemistry has led to syntheses of surfactants without the use of solvents and without the generation of by-products when milder manufacturing processes are used. The zwitterionic betaine ester surfactants are derived from natural renewable sources and are biodegradable. In this research, the betaine ester surfactant 2-di-methylaminoethyllaurate betaine was synthesized from 2-di-methylaminoehanol and lauric acid derived from coconut oil in a three-step chemo-enzymatic esterification reaction. The enzymatic process was optimized in terms of operating parameters such as temperature, time, molar ratio and enzyme concentration, resulting in a yield of 87.91%. Structural analysis of the intermediate 2-di-methylaminoethyl laurate as well as the final product 2-di-methylaminoethyl laurate betaine was carried out with FTIR and 1H NMR. The surfactant properties of the betaine were also determined and showed that the betaine can be used as a co-surfactant in many cosmetic and personal care products.
