ABSTRACT
I. INTRODUCTION By tradition, surfactants are stable species. Among the surfactant workhorses are: anionics such as alkylbenzene sulfonates and alkyl sulfates, nonionics such as alcohol ethoxylates and alkylphenol ethoxylates, and cationics such as alkyl quats and dialkyl quats; only alkyl sulfates are not chemically stable under normal conditions. Through the years, the susceptibility of alkyl sulfates to acid-catalyzed hydrolysis has been seen as a considerable problem, particularly well known for the most prominent member of the class, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The general attitude has been that weak bonds in a surfactant may cause handling and storage problems and should therefore be avoided.
