Characterization of synthetic and commercial trisiloxane surfactant materials

Abstract

The organosilicone surfactant Silwet L-77® (L-77), used as an agrochemical adjuvant, is a mixture comprised predominantly of [(CH₃)₃SiO]₂ (CH₃)Si (CH₂)₃ (OCH₂CH₂)n OCH₃ oligomers (n = 3-16, average n 7.5). The commercially available L-77 mixture was purified by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to obtain individual trisiloxane surfactant components. Pure oligomers (n = 3, 6 and 9) were also synthesized. Synthesis was achieved by hydrosilylation of monomeric ethoxylate monomethyl ether starting reagents. Pure hexa- and nona-ethylene glycols were produced by condensation of smaller oligomers. Atmospheric-pressure ionization mass spectrometry (MS) methods were used to characterize fully the commercial L-77 product and synthesized or isolated components. The application of Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance MS and online HPLC-electrospray ionization MS techniques to the analysis of this surfactant are described here. The application of these analytical techniques also enabled elucidation of the synthetic by-products present in the commercial formulation.