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As an example, i notice that decyloxirane has a long non-polar "tail" and a tiny "head" that features two polar bonds. This molecule looks not so different from a common soap to me.

Would it act as a detergent when added to an industrial lubricant or hydraulic oil?

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    $\begingroup$ Being insoluble is quite a problem... $\endgroup$
    – Mithoron
    Commented Jul 5, 2020 at 20:43
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    $\begingroup$ It´s surely a better surfactant than decane? And a lot worse than, say, SLES. Without an application or a specific property in mind, categorising sth as a surfactant is quite pointless. $\endgroup$
    – Karl
    Commented Jul 5, 2020 at 20:58
  • $\begingroup$ @Karl Thanks for pointing that out. Edited to narrow it somewhat to a specific application. $\endgroup$
    – Al_
    Commented Jul 5, 2020 at 21:16
  • $\begingroup$ I have no idea why you would add surfactants to an oil, especially now you said it should make a detergent. The central property is to stabilise immicible mixtures by forming micelles. What do you want to achieve? $\endgroup$
    – Karl
    Commented Jul 6, 2020 at 6:31
  • $\begingroup$ @Karl The purpose is only to understand if alkyl oxiranes are able to function as detergents (even a gentle detergent action) or not. What i have in mind is that if such a molecule were to be added to a polar base oil it might be able to scrape any dirt/old oil degradation product (carbonized oil) off of pipe walls (via the non-polar tail) as the oil flows about and also able to "seize" such particles (thanks to the micelles) and keep them from depositing anywhere (except upon a filter element). But i could be wrong. That's why i'm asking $\endgroup$
    – Al_
    Commented Jul 6, 2020 at 10:56

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