Soaps and Detergents - Chemistry LibreTexts
Sep 13, 2020·Soaps and Detergents Last updated; Save as PDF Page ID 5871; Contributors; Carboxylic acids and salts having alkyl chains longer than eight carbons exhibit unusual behavior in water due to the presence of both hydrophilic (CO 2) and hydrophobic (alkyl) regions in the same molecule.Such molecules are termed amphiphilic (Gk. amphi = both) or amphipathic.