Introduction

Our lives are entirely reliant on carbon and its components. These chemical substances are found everywhere, in everything from food to pharmaceuticals to fabrics to laboratories. Additionally, carbon compounds have been used in mystical applications. They carry out a variety of fantastic jobs, from eradicating pathogens to washing our clothes. In the form of soaps, organic chemicals have a role in cleaning our garments. Since ancient times, soap has been used as a detergent.

Soaps

What are soaps?

When combined with water, soap is a chemical that cleans filth and oil from the skin as well as other surfaces, such as clothing.
Chemically speaking, soaps are fatty acid salts.
Long hydrocarbon chains withcarboxylic acid at one terminal make up fatty acids. As fatty acid salts, soaps have a sodium or potassium ion connected to their chain.
Soaps feature a lengthy chain of hydrocarbons in their structure that can be saturated or unsaturated, have a carboxylic terminal, and have sodium or potassium atoms linked to them.
Depending on whether sodium or potassium is linked to it, soaps are chemically expressed as R-COO-Na or R-COO-K.
Since the enormous structures of soaps are impossible to depict, they are instead depicted by a ball on top with a tail attached to it.
- The ball depicts the carboxylic terminal and has sodium or potassium connected.
- The hydrophilic end, which is the end containing the ball, is also known as the head region, while the hydrophobic end, also known as the tail region, is the terminal.
- The term "hydrophilic end" refers to an end that enjoys being near or in contact with water. Hydra is the word for water, and Philous is the word for loving.
- The term "hydrophobic" refers to a group that tries to avoid being near water. Hydra is the word for water, and phobia is the word for fear. It is the part that attempts to avoid being near water.
- As a result, the hydrophilic end, which is drawn to molecules like water, is also described as the polar end, while the hydrophobic end, which is driven to non-polar molecules like oil, grease, and other such substances, is described as the non-polar end.

Triglyceride, glycerol, and fatty acids

Base-driven hydrolysis of triglycerides is the technique used to create soaps (triglyceride is a scientific name for fats)
Triglycerides are big fat molecules made up of two components: glycerol and fatty acids.
- Fatty acids are chemical compounds made up of a lengthy chain of hydrocarbons and a carboxylic acid functional group. Fatty acids are essentially highly carbonated carboxylic acids. The carbon atoms in the hydrocarbon chain can either be linked together by single bonds in a saturated hydrocarbon chain or by double bonds in an unsaturated hydrocarbon chain. On the majority of nutrition labels, saturated and unsaturated fatty acids are also displayed.
- Three alcohol functional groups make up the chemical molecule known as glycerol. Alcoholic functional groups are each joined to a unique carbon atom. Therefore, 1,2,3-tripropanol is the formal name for glycerol. Glycerol is often particularly soluble in water due to the alcohol functional group's high polarity and ability to establish hydrogen bonds with the solvent.
Esterification: The condensation reaction between an alcohol and a carboxylic acid produces esters.
A water molecule is created as a by-product in addition to an ester molecule. This process can be reversed.
The esterification process is demonstrated by the reaction between glycerol and fatty acids, which results in the formation of a single big molecule of triglyceride from the reaction of three alcohol functional groups with three distinct carboxylic acids of the fatty acid molecules. The molecule of triglyceride has three ester functional groups. As a by-product, three water molecules are also created.
Triglyceride synthesis from glycerol and fatty acids is reversible.

Process of making Soaps

The very first methods of manufacturing soap were traditionally characterised by the interaction of animal fat and ash from wood fires. The fat would drip onto the ashes when animals were cooked on a spit over a wood fire. When combined with water, the ashes function as effective cleaners because they contain potassium carbonate, which breaks down fats.

Process:

Hydrolysis has always been used to create soaps in a similar manner. This procedure is known as saponification in technical language.
Fatty acids or oils chemically react with a base, often sodium hydroxide and water.
Soap and the compound glycerine are the end products of this procedure.
The breakdown of the fatty ester to produce a carboxylate salt and glycerine is thought to have taken place chemically in this process.
Because it can make soap appear translucent, glycerine is a common ingredient in luxury soaps.

Types of soaps

Hard soap and soft soap are the two varieties of soap.
The type of soap is determined by two factors:
- First, whether the soap is hard or soft is influenced by the r group, which stands for the length of a hydrocarbon chain. The properties of fat are modified by an r group of a fixed length, especially its melting temperature and solubility.
- Second, the selection of a base, such as whether sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide was utilised, is crucial.
Soaps come in two varieties: hard, which can be moulded into shapes, usually a bar and soft, found in handwashes, which are liquified and maintained in bottles. Additionally, soft soaps dissolve more quickly compared to hard soaps, which dissolve more slowly. Certain fats, including coconut oils and cocoa butter, are used to make hard soap.
Hard soaps are often created by using sodium hydroxide in the saponification of fatty acid esters with r groups having 12 carbons or more.
Because they irritate the skin and have an unpleasant smell, fatty acid esters with six carbons or less are not used.
When soft soaps are saponified, fatty acid esters, such as avocado oil, sunflower oil, or castor oil, to mention a few, are used.

To recap, the method used to produce soaps is referred to as saponification, which is actually hydrolysis. Glycerine and carboxylate salt is produced when a fatty acid ester link has been broken. The soap we use for cleaning is made from the carboxylate salt that is produced.

Properties

Water and soaps only marginally dissolve, creating a murky solution.
Since soaps are salts of mild carboxylic acids with a strong base, the solution has an alkaline PH.
The propensity of soap to produce foam on the surface is demonstrated by a clear soap solution. By adding acids, which transform the sops into weekly dissociated fatty acids, the foam is easily broken up.
The foaming is also decreased by the salts of metals like calcium and magnesium.
Insoluble in water are oils. However, when combined with a soap solution, they create a stable emulsion, which is why soaps are frequently employed as cleaning agents to get rid of oil and filth.
Soaps are made from biomass, or more specifically, from vegetable or animal fats.
They are biodegradable because they are made from biomass.
Soaps cannot be utilized in an acid medium because the increased hydrogen ion concentration can change the hydrophilic carboxylic head into fatty acid, reducing the molecule's polarity and hydrophilicity. As a result, soap becomes less powerful.
They cannot be utilized in hard water, either (the water that contains higher concentrations of calcium and magnesium ions). This is because the soap molecules combine with the calcium and magnesium ions to create a precipitate known as scum.