Physico-chemical studies on calcium soaps

Article abstract of DOI:10.1002/recl.19871061204

Calcium soaps were prepared by the metathesis of the corresponding potassium soap with an aqueous solution of calcium acetate.The IR results showed that the fatty acids exist in a dimeric structure as a result of hydrogen bonding between the carbonyl groups of two acid molecules, whereas calcium palmitate has an ionic character.The X-ray analysis indicated that the zig-zag chains of the fatty acid radical constituent of the soap molecules extend straigthforward on both sides of each basal plane and that the molecular axes of the soaps are slightly inclined to the basal plane.The thermal decomposition of calcium palmitate was found to be kinetically of zero order and the energy of activation for the decomposition was in the region of 3 KJ/mole.