Surfactant Surfactant Surfactants are compounds that lower the surface tension (or interfacial tension) between two liquids, between a gas and a liquid, or between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming agents, and dispersants. The term "surfactant" is a blend of "surface active agent". In the United States National Library of Medicine's Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) vocabulary, "surfactant" is reserved for the meaning pulmonary surfactant. For the more general meaning, "surface active agent/s" is the heading. Surfactants are usually organic compounds that are amphiphilic, meaning they contain both hydrophobic groups (their "tails") and hydrophilic
Liquid the volume of a liquid exactly matches the volume of its container, one or more surfaces are observed. The surface of a liquid behaves like an elastic membrane in which surface tension appears, allowing the formation of drops and bubbles. Surface waves, capillary action, wetting, and ripples are other consequences of surface tension. In a confined liquid, defined by geometric constraints on a nanoscopic scale, most molecules sense some surface effects, which can result in physical properties grossly deviating from those of the bulk liquid. A free surface is the surface of a fluid that is subject to both zero