Abstract:Four N-[γ-(dialkylamino)alkyl]perfluorooctanesulfonamides [C8F17SO2NH(CH2)nNR2, n = 2, 3; R = -CH3, -CH2CH3] were synthesized from the reaction between perfluorooctanesulfonyl fluoride (C8F17SO2F) and N,N-dialkyl-alkanediamine [NH2(CH2)nNR2, n = 2, 3; R = -CH3, -CH2CH3], from which derivative products (four hydrochloride salts [C8F17SO2NH(CH2)nN+HR2Cl-] and four quaternary ammonium salts [C8F17SO2NH(CH2)nN+R2(CH3)I-]) were obtained by acidification with hydrochloric acid and quaternization with CH3I, respectively. The solubility and surface activities of these cationic fluorinated surfactants in aqueous solution were studied. The effects of length of linker group (hydrocarbon spacer) and the size of hydrophilic group on the performance of these cationic fluorinated surfactants were discussed. It showed that these two factors, i.e. such changes in the length of linker (hydrocarbon spacer) and the size of hydrophilic group, could significantly influence the solubility of surfactants but insignificantly influence their surface activity. This could be attributed to the strong hydrophobicity of fluorocarbon chains which overwhelming upon the influence from the length of linker (hydrocarbon spacer) and the size of hydrophilic group. The detailed differences between the behaviors of these surfactants could be explained in the term of solubility, adsorption state on the air/water interface, steric effect and charge density distribution.