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Dear student,

Cleaning action of Soap: 

The soap works with the mechanism of micelle formation. But, before we understand the cleaning action, we should have an idea of its structure.

  • Actually, the Soap is a sodium(Na) or potassium(K) salt of a long-chain fatty acid in which the fatty acid ion is made of polar head group, also called hydrophilic (water-loving) group and a long zig-zag nonpolar hydrocarbon chain which is insoluble in water called as a hydrophobic end.  

structure of a common soap:

When soap molecules are present in water, the molecules arrange themselves in the form of a cluster in such a manner that their hydrophobic ends are away from the water molecules and their hydrophilic or ionic ends are towards the water molecules (as shown in the following figure). This is known as micelle formation and the cluster that is formed is called a micelle.

 

When a piece of cloth is placed in this soap solution, the hydrophobic ends of the soap molecules stick to the dirt while the hydrophilic end remains suspended in water. Thus when the cloth is rinsed and taken out of the water, it is free from dirt. 

 

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