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• The structure of soaps and detergents
• Soaps
• Synthetic detergents

A detergent is a cleaning agent. Detergents can be classified into one of two general categories: natural soaps (or just soaps) and synthetic detergents (or syndets). Both soaps and syndets have many similarities, particularly with regard to their molecular structures and the way they clean objects.

The structure of soaps and detergents

Both soaps and syndets consist of very long molecules. A model of such molecules is shown below:

CH₃CH₂CH₂CH₂CH₂CH₂CH₂CH₂CH₂CH₂CH₂CH₂CH₂CH₂CH₂CHCOO⁻, Na⁺