10.5 Soaps, Detergents and Micelles

Sodium or potassium salts of fatty acids are called soaps.  They are obtained by basic hydrolysis of triglycerides which is called saponification (Scheme 3). Scheme 4 shows the three most common soaps used. In aqueous solution, the long chain carboxylic acids arrange themselves in spherical clusters called micelles as shown in Figure 4. Each micelle contains 50-100 long-chain carboxylates.

Scheme 3

Scheme 4

Figure 4