There are numerous Chemical compounds produced by the chemical manufacturers. All of these chemical products are utilized either directly or as a constituent in the production process of some end-product. One of the popular chemical product used actively in the industry is Quaternary Ammonium Salt or Quaternary Ammonium Compound.
Abbreviated as Quats, the compound can be categorized into hundreds of products, providing several individual chemicals. It has found its use in several formulations, most of them involving a blend of different type of Quats. Due to its distinct anti-microbiological property, Quaternary Ammonium Compound is widely preferred for wood preservation, disinfectants, surfactants, antistatic agents, and fabric softeners.
Composition
Quats are basically the salts of Quaternary Ammonium Cations – a positively charged polyatomic ion. They are permanently charged, unlike ammonium cations, and independent of the pH of their solutions.
These compounds are prepared by a chemical process called quaternization, also known as Menshutkin reaction in the older times. The process involves alkylation of tertiary amines (derivatives of ammonia) with halocarbons.
Categories of Quats
- Group 1 – Alkyl or Hydroxyl substituted Quats
- Group 2 – Non-halogenated benzyl substituted Quats
- Group 3 – di- and tri- chlorobenzyl substituted Quats
- Group 4 – unusual substitutes (charged heterocyclic compounds)
Chemical Properties
- Quats are usually in solid form and easily dissolve in liquid solutions.
- They are stable towards nucleophiles, and are unreactive to acids, oxidants, and strong electrophiles as well.
- Quats do not evaporate into air, but persist in the environment.
- Quat solutions leave a solid residue upon drying.
Applications and Uses
- Quats have found their way into popular products like shampoos, spermicidal jellies, chloride salts as fabric softeners, and sulfate salts as fabric conditioner.
- Due to the antimicrobial and disinfectant property, Quats like benzalkonium chloride, benzethonium chloride, cetalkonium chloride, cetrimonium, centrimide, and dofanium chloride, and more, are actively in demand.
- Quats are popular in the food industry due to their role of a sanitizing agent.
- They are lethal against various fungi, amoeba, virus and many other organisms.
- They are used to remove organic materials, and are good cationic detergents.
- Quats perform best in soft waters and are deactivated by common soaps.
- One important application of Quat includes combination with Phenols.
- Quats are widely used in organic chemistry as PTC or Phase Transfer Catalyst, facilitating the migration of reactants from one phase to another.
- Currently, popular fabric softeners are based on quaternary ammonium cations containing one or two long alkyl chains.
- Quat compounds are used to stabilize osmotic pressure in cells and are present in osmolytes, like glycine betaine.
It is crucial to select the best quality Quaternary Ammonium Compound from a trusted chemical manufacturer. Tatva Chintan Pharma Chem Pvt. Ltd, a leading pharmaceutical company in India offers a wide variety of chemical products like Quats, specialty chemicals, quaternary phosphonium salts, methylating agents, electrolyte chemicals, and more. It has made a name for itself with the kind of quality it provides at such a competitive price. The quality product supplied by them at such an affordable price has made them a big hit in the industry.
This post first appeared on Cetrimide | Phase Transfer Catalyst | Tetraethylammonium Tetrafluoroborate, please read the originial post: here
