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Various N-alkylbenzenesulfonamides of the type ROSO2NHR' , where R is t-butyl, or hydrogen and R' is decyl, octyl, t-octyl, 2-ethylhexyl, hexyl, and butyl, were treated with ethylene oxide (EO) to yield polydisperse adducts R$SO 2N(R')(EO)xH where x is any integer from 2 to 20. Each series of adducts exhibited a range of properties and water solubility. Wetting ability, surface tension, cloud point, and hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) were related to structure and EO content to determine the most efficient wetting agent for peat moss and cotton skeins. Optimum wetting properties were found for adducts containing 5-10 EO units and in particular with t-C 4 Hgq~SO 2 N(t-C 8 H17)(EO)xH" This EO chain-length region corresponded to cloud points of 25 °, minimal surface tensions, and HLB values 10-12.T.J. MICICH AND W.M. LINFIELD

Isomeric hydroxyethyl tertiary amides, RCONR′CH2CH2OH, where R and R′ are 7‐ 8 carbon linear or branched aliphatic groups, were oxyethylated to form polydisperse adducts containing 5‐ 20 moles of ethylene oxide. The adducts RCONR′(E.O.)xH were free of unreacted amide and contained minimum ester contaminant where R and R′ were branched. Ester content of the adducts does not change with time, but the monomer does revert to amide on standing. All series of adducts showed good wetting at intermediate chain lengths but instantaneous wetting only at short chain lengths where both R and R′ were branched. Good water solubility occurred at the intermediate chain length while maximum surface activity was found for short chain lengths corresponding to a hydrophile‐ lipophile balance of ~9. All adduct series were excellent wetting agents for cotton skeins and a burned over sandy loam. For this soil the adducts effectively promote wetting at 0.01% level.

Low pressure oxyethylation of RNHCOR CONHR or RCONHCH2CH2NHCOR does not occur below 100 C where R represents branched aliphatic groups and R’ is 0–4 methylene groups or ‐CH=CH‐. These diamides add ethylene oxide at 140–170 C to give dark adducts highly contaminated with aminoester. The corresponding dihydroxyethyl derivatives undergo low pressure oxyethylation, yielding products with good room temperature solubility, low aminoester content and good wetting properties for cotton skeins and a hydrophobic soil. For these adduct series, most effective wetting was found with an ethylene oxide chain length of 8. For adducts based on fumaramide, excellent wetting properties were observed over a chain length range of 5–15 units. All adduct series effectively wet Idylwild hydrophobic soil at 0.01%, but no distinction was possible between series at the same concentration.

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