Organic solvents are widely used for diluting varnishes and paints, cleaning surfaces and conducting organic synthesis. However, more than 80% of these substances are hazardous to the environment, which is why scientists are trying to find an alternative. The simplest and safest alternative is ordinary water, but many substances, such as fats, oils and kerosene, cannot dissolve in it. This deficiency can be addressed with the use of surface active agents (surfactants), the molecules of which comprise two parts: an insoluble one, which interacts with fats, and a soluble one, which interacts with water. Thanks to their structure, surfactants help mix normally non-reacting substances, such as water and motor oil.
A type of surfactant – polymerised micelles – has been developed by the scientists from St. Petersburg State University and the Institute of Experimental Medicine RAS. The synthesised substance can work at lower concentrations than most other surfactants. This was proven in an experiment, during which the authors attempted to degrade two esters: polymerised micelles provided 90% solubility, even though their concentration was half that of surfactants used in industrial applications.
The scientists also found that polymerised micelles have bactericidal properties: in particular, they inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, a dangerous bacterium that causes over 100 infectious diseases, including bronchitis, meningitis and pneumonia. This means that the resulting polymer molecules can be used to create substances for disinfecting microflorae in water treatment systems.
“Ester degradation is not the only reaction we are trying to achieve using the proposed polymers in water. We are currently considering the option of using them to carry out organic reactions that are widely used in the development of new drugs, as well as other industrially important substances. This green approach to organic reactions could break new ground in modern catalytic chemistry,” Pyotr Fetin, one of the authors of the study and candidate of chemical sciences, is quoted as saying by the Russian Science Foundation.
