ALS (AMMONIUM LAURYL SULFATE)
ALS (AMMONIUM LAURYL SULFATE)
Ammonium lauryl sulfate (ALS) is the common name for ammonium dodecyl sulfate (CH3(CH2)10CH2OSO3NH4).
The anion consists of a nonpolar hydrocarbon chain and a polar sulfate end group.
The combination of nonpolar and polar groups confers surfactant properties to the anion:
it facilitates dissolution of both polar and non-polar materials. ALS is classified as a sulfate ester.
It is found primarily in shampoos and body-wash as a foaming agent.
Lauryl sulfates are very high-foam surfactants that disrupt the surface tension of water in part by forming micelles at the surface-air interface.
Action in solution
Above the critical micelle concentration, the anions organize into a micelle, in which they form a sphere with the polar, hydrophilic heads of the sulfate portion on the outside (surface) of the sphere and the nonpolar, hydrophobic tails pointing inwards towards the center.
The water molecules around the micelle in turn arrange themselves around the polar heads, which disrupts their ability to hydrogen bond with other nearby water molecules.
The overall effect of these micelles is a reduction in surface tension of the solution, which affords a greater ability to penetrate or “wet out” various surfaces, including porous structures like cloth, fibers, and hair.
Accordingly, this structured solution allows the solution to more readily dissolve soils, greases, etc. in and on such substrates.
Lauryl sulfates however exhibit poor soil suspending capacity.
IUPAC name
Ammonium dodecyl sulfate
Other names
• monododecyl ester, ammonium salt
• Ammonium dodecyl sulfate
CAS Number: 2235-54-3
The CIR report concluded that both sodium and ammonium lauryl sulfate “appear to be safe in formulations designed for discontinuous, brief use followed by thorough rinsing from the surface of the skin.
In products intended for prolonged use, concentrations should not exceed 1%.”
The Human and Environmental Risk Assessment (HERA) project performed a thorough investigation of all alkyl sulfates, as such the results they found apply directly to ALS.
Most alkyl sulfates exhibit low acute oral toxicity, no toxicity through exposure to the skin, concentration dependent skin irritation, and concentration dependent eye-irritation.
They do not sensitize the skin and did not appear to be carcinogenic in a two-year study on rats.
The report found that longer carbon chains (16–18) were less irritating to the skin than chains of 12–15 carbons in length.
In addition, concentrations below 1% were essentially non-irritating while concentrations greater than 10% produced moderate to strong irritation of the skin.
Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate are both anionic surfactants.
A surfactant is a compound that decreases the surface tension between two liquids, a solid or a liquid, or a gas and a liquid.
They often act as detergents, foaming agents, and more by helping to mix water with oil and dirt so they can be washed away.
ALS and SLS have similar-sounding names but what makes them different is their molecular structure.
Are ALS and SLS safe to use?
For decades, sulphates have been in the focus of critical parties, even though they are an incredibly efficient fat remover and create a ton of foam.
They are considered as environmentally friendly, as they are very quickly biodegradable and won’t typically cause any allergies.
Sulfates are recognized among others by the Asthma and Allergy Society in all countries and therefore widely used in most shampoos, sanitary cleansing gels, dishwashers, etc., to dissolve fat the most effectively.
ALS is a mild anionic surfactant suitable for use in formulations of neutral or slightly acidic personal care products and cosmetics such as body and hair shampoos, bubble baths and liquid soaps.
The product exhibits copious foam, outstanding detergency, wetting and emulsifying properties and easy viscosity-control.
Owing to its unique foaming properties ALS is also used in a number of technical applications such as fire-fighting, emulsion polymerization or oil fields.
Application areas
HI&I cleaning
Emulsion polymerization
Fire-fighting
Personal care
Laundry detergents
Oil fields
Printing industry
ALS is an anionic surfactant from the group of alkyl sulphates,
INCI name: Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate. It is mainly intended for personal care products.
It has the form of a clear, viscous liquid in colour from colourless to light yellow.
The active substance content in the commercial product is around 27% or 70 %.
Properties and applications
Product advantages:
an alternative to SLS and SLES,
milder effect on the skin compared to the basic anionic surfactants,
the ability to produce dense and stable foam,
resistance to hard water,
effective cleaning even with excessive amounts of sebum,
ensures perfect stabilization of polymer dispersion in lower pH ranges,
a very good dispersant for most dispersions.
Application:
shampoos,
body wash products,
shower gels,
agents reducing the weight of drywall,
air-entraining and plasticizing admixtures,
emulsion polymerization,
accessories for packaging
professional car cosmetics.
Alternative names: Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, ALS, ammonium salt of lauryl alcohol sulfate
Use: High foaming agent for shampoos and defoaming agent, for synthetic rubbers, for emulsifier of emulsion polymerization.
Ammonium lauryl sulphate, also known as ALS is a commonly used fat based molecule. It is usually made from coconut or palm kernel oil.
The fat molecules in the oil are broken down and then reacted to produce something called a ‘surfactant’ – a compound that is often used in detergents, emulsifiers (stabiliser), foaming agent and dispersant.
It is often found in hygiene products like cleansers, shampoos and soaps and is popular due to it wide variety of uses and its relatively cheap cost.
While related, ammonium lauryl sulphate is not the same as ammonium laureth sulphate (ALES) which works in a similar manner but has additional ‘ether’ groups in the fatty end of the molecule.
The key part of this molecule is the ‘lauryl sulphate’ section.
The lauryl sulphate part has one fatty end and one charged end which lets it work as an adapter between oil and water which would otherwise repel each other and refuse to mix.
In the same way that washing up liquid can help water wash grease off a frying pan, detergents in cleansers and soaps can remove make up and oily debris on the face by grabbing it with their fatty end and then getting pulled away by water grabbing their charged end.
In both shampoos and toothpaste, ALS can be responsible for the foaming and lather produced during use as it forms a thin film that traps air into bubbles.
Synonyms:
akyposal ALS 33
ammonium dodecyl sulfate
ammonium dodecyl sulphate
ammonium N-dodecyl sulfate
ammoniumlaurylsulfate
azanium dodecyl sulfate
calfoam NLS-30
carsonol ALS
conco sulfate A
cosmopon AM
dodecyl ammonium sulfate
lauryl ammonium sulfate
maprofix NH
montopol LA 20
neopon LAM
norfox ALS
nutrapon HA 3841
presulin
richonol AM
sermul EA 129
sinopon
sipon LA 30
siprol 422
siprol L22
sterling AM
sulfuric acid dodecyl ester ammonium salt
sulfuric acid monododecyl ester ammonium salt
sulfuric acid, dodecyl ester, ammonium salt
sulfuric acid, lauryl ester, ammonium salt
sulfuric acid, monododecyl ester, ammonium salt
surfax 215
texapon A 400
texapon ALS
ufarol AM-30
ufarol AM-70
Ammonium dodecyl sulfate
2235-54-3
AMMONIUM LAURYL SULFATE
Presulin
Sinopon
Texapon special
Conco sulfate A
Maprofix NH
Richonol AM
Sterling AM
Ammonium dodecyl sulphate
Neopon LAM
Akyposal als 33
Montopol LA 20
Siprol L22
Siprol 422
Texapon A 400
azanium;dodecyl sulfate
Lauryl ammonium sulfate
Sipon LA 30
Caswell No. 044B
Texapon A 400
Dodecyl ammonium sulfate
Ammonium n-dodecyl sulfate
UNII-Q7AO2R1M0B
Lauryl sulfate ammonium salt
Sulfuric acid, monododecyl ester, ammonium salt
HSDB 2101
EINECS 218-793-9
EPA Pesticide Chemical Code 079028
Q7AO2R1M0B
Dodecyl sulfate ammonium salt
Sulfuric acid, lauryl ester, ammonium salt
Sulfuric acid, monododecyl ester, ammonium salt (1:1)
Ammoniumlaurylsulfate
DSSTox_CID_7462
DSSTox_RID_78462
DSSTox_GSID_27462
SCHEMBL23132
DTXSID2027462
CTK1A1925
Ammonium dodecyl sulfate ethoxyethane
Tox21_202561
Ammonium dodecyl sulfate 2235-54-3
NCGC00164423-01
NCGC00260110-01
AK112683
SC-21318
CAS-2235-54-3
LS-148226
Alkyl-(C10-C16)-alcohol sulfuric acid ammonium salt
68081-96-9
Surface-Active Agents
Agents that modify interfacial tension of water;
usually substances that have one lipophilic and one hydrophilic group in the molecule; includes soaps, detergents, emulsifiers, dispersing and wetting agents, and several groups of antiseptics
Ammonium lauryl sulfate (ALS) is the common name for ammonium dodecyl sulfate.
ALS is classified as an alkyl sulfate and is an anionic surfactant found primarily in shampoos and body-wash as a foaming agent.
Lauryl sulfates are very high-foam surfactants that disrupt the surface tension of water by forming micelles around the polar water molecules
Synonym
Ammonium dodecyl sulfate
Ammonium lauryl sulfate solution
Ammonium lauryl sulfic acid
Ammonium lauryl sulphate
Ammonium lauryl sulphic acid
Dodecyl sulfate ammonium salt
Ammonium lauryl sulfate (ALS) and sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) are both commonly used surfactants in soaps and shampoos.
The primary difference between them is the greater solubility of ALS in water.
Chemistry
Both ALS and SLS contain the negatively charged lauryl sulfate ion, CH3(CH2)10CH2OSO3-.
The positively charged ion, however, differs between compounds:
ALS contains the ammonium ion NH4+, and SLS contains the sodium ion Na+.
Function
The lauryl sulfate ion makes both compounds surfactants, which is a shortened version of “surface-acting agents.”
As a group, surfactants reduce the surface tension of water, thereby allowing water to penetrate into fibers–a process called “wetting.”
The active components of ALS and SLS are chemically identical and should perform identically.
Solubility
The greatest difference between ALS and SLS lies in their solubilities in water.
At room temperature, SLS will dissolve at rate of 150 grams per 1 liter of water.
However, nearly 500 grams of ALS will dissolve in 1 liter of water at the same temperature.
In terms of effectiveness in soaps and shampoos, this difference is not meaningful, because soaps and shampoos are typically used in much warmer water, where the solubility of both compounds would be higher.
The relatively low solubility of SLS does, however, prevent its use in clear or colorless soaps and shampoos because, at room temperature, these formulations would appear cloudy.
Clear shampoos will therefore typically use ALS or another highly soluble surfactant.
Toxicity
Both ALS and SLS exhibit low toxicity by ingestion.
If ingested in large doses, both will cause intestinal distress (nausea and diarrhea).
The greatest risk is irritation to the nose and eyes.
However, at low concentrations (such as those found in most shampoos), this risk is greatly diminished.
Ammonium lauryl sulfate (ALS) is a structurally related compound, replacing ammonium group for sodium.
They have same applications.
But they cause skin and eye irritation, and are therefore not useful in in products that are on the skin for a long time. The ethoxylated SLS and ALS are less irritant on the skin; sodium laureth sulfate (sodium lauryl ether sulfate, SLES) and ammonium laureth sulfate (ammonium lauryl ether sulfate, ALES) which are prepared by addition of ethylene oxide.
SLES and ALES are used as a foaming and viscosity builder in shampoos and personal care products (such as bubble bath, shaving cream , ointment, and tooth pastes sometimes) particularly of low pH products. One more common feature of them appears to be the compatibility with other surfactants.
ATAMAN Chemicals offers a wide variety of anionic, amphoteric and nonionic surfactant chemistries for household, industrial and institutional cleaning products.
ATAMAN Chemical’s surfactants exhibit exceptionally high performance, low color, and high purity.
Ataman Chemical’s HI&I products extend into a wide range of applications including laundry and dishwashing detergents, all-purpose cleaners, degreasers, disinfectants, vehicle-cleaning compounds, heavy-duty commercial and industrial cleaners and sanitizers.
Ammonium lauryl sulfate (ALS) is the common name for ammonium dodecyl sulfate (CH3(CH2)10CH2OSO3NH4).
The dodecyl signifies the presence of a 12-member carbon chain in the molecular backbone which allows the molecule to bond with non-polar portions of molecules while the highly polar sulfate head allows the molecule to bond with polar molecules such as water.
ALS is classified as an alkyl sulfate and is an anionic surfactant found primarily in shampoos and body-wash as a foaming agent.
Lauryl sulfates are very high-foam surfactants that disrupt the surface tension of water in part by forming micelles around the highly polar water molecules at the surface-air interface.
ALS Ammonium lauryl sulfate (ALS) is the common name for ammonium dodecyl sulfate (CH3(CH2)10CH2OSO3NH4).
The molecule consists of a long nonpolar hydrocarbon chain and a polar sulfate end group, the combination of which make the material a surfactant. These two components allow the compound to dissolve among both polar and non-polar molecules.
ALS is classified as an alkyl sulfate and is an anionic surfactant found primarily in shampoos and body-wash as a foaming agent.
Lauryl sulfates are very high-foam surfactants that disrupt the surface tension of water in part by forming micelles around the highly polar water molecules at the surface-air interface. ALS has a pH slightly less than 7 making it a mildly acidic
Akyposa ALS 33; Ammonium dodecyl sulfate; Ammonium lauryl sulfate; Ammonium n-dodecyl sulfate; Conco Sulfate A; Dodecyl ammonium sulfate; Lauryl ammonium sulfate; Lauryl sulfate ammonium salt; Maprofix NH; Montopol LA 20; Neopon LAM; Presulin; Richonol AM; Sinopon; Sipon LA 30; Siprol 422; Siprol L22; Sterling AM; Sulfuric acid, lauryl ester, ammonium salt; Sulfuric acid, monododecyl ester, ammonium salt; Texapon A 400; Texapon Special; Dodecyl sulfate ammonium salt;
Sources/Uses
Used as an anionic detergent or surface-active agent in hair and rug shampoos, bath products, detergents, skin cleansing preparations, hand soaps, hair dyes, conditioners, and shaving products;
A pretty common cleansing agent that can be derived from coconut or palm kernel oil.
It’s liked for its great foaming abilities and can help to create a creamy and luxurious lather in bath products.
It is chemically closely related to known-for-its -harshness SLS, but the Ammonium part makes it milder.