- ▸ Detergent surfactant
- ▸ Emulsifier/solubilizer
- ▸ Wetting agent
A grade-specific Safety Data Sheet (SDS) — with the complete hazard classification, handling precautions, and transport information — is supplied with every shipment and available on request. Confirm all safety and regulatory details against the SDS for your specific grade.
Request SDS →Isodeceth-6 (CAS 61827-42-7) is a nonionic surfactant: branched isodecyl alcohol ethoxylated to an average of 6 moles of ethylene oxide, sold in cosmetics under the same INCI name. At HLB 12 it is water-soluble and works as a fast wetting agent, a detergent, and an emulsifier — Draves wetting takes 5 seconds at 0.1%. Typical buyers formulate hard-surface and institutional cleaners, agrochemical emulsifier blends, and personal care products, plus textile, coatings, and latex processing.
The material ships at 99% minimum activity with 0.2% maximum moisture, a pourable 80 cps liquid at 25 °C, so you dilute at point of use instead of paying freight on water. FDA’s Global Substance Registration System registers Isodeceth-6 under UNII 278Z9G87XH as a polymer-class substance. It belongs to the nonionic surfactants family and is supplied at 4, 6, and 9 average moles of EO.
Key Properties
Values below are typical manufacturer data for the 6-EO isodecyl ethoxylate (CAS 61827-42-7; also registered as Alcohols, C9-11-iso-, C10-rich, ethoxylated, CAS 78330-20-8, a broader C9–11 feedstock), not sales specifications. The CIR expert panel describes the substance as a mixture of branched C10 isomers with a variable PEG chain, so hold each lot to its certificate of analysis (CoA).
| Property | Typical value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Appearance (25 °C) | Hazy liquid | Stepan bulletin |
| Ionic class | Nonionic | Rhodia DA-630 E data |
| Average moles EO | 6 | Stepan bulletin |
| HLB | 12 | Stepan bulletin |
| Nominal molecular weight | 422.60 g/mol (n=6 structure); ~431 g/mol average | CIR panel book |
| Active content | 99% min activity; 0.2% max moisture | Stepan alkoxylate guide |
| Cloud point (1% aqueous) | 43 °C (109 °F); 39–45 °C spec on the Rhodia-heritage grade | Stepan bulletin |
| Pour point | 6 °C (43 °F) | Stepan bulletin |
| Density (25 °C) | 0.99 g/mL (8.2 lb/US gal) | Stepan bulletin |
| Viscosity (25 °C) | 80 cps | Stepan bulletin |
| pH | 4.5–7 (5% aqueous); 6.0–8.0 (10% aqueous, Rhodia spec) | Stepan bulletin |
| Flash point (PMCC) | >94 °C (>201 °F) | Stepan bulletin |
| Surface tension (0.1% DI water) | 26.6 dynes/cm | Stepan alkoxylate guide |
| Draves wetting (0.1% DI water) | 5 seconds | Stepan alkoxylate guide |
| Ross-Miles foam (0.1% DI water) | 12.5 cm initial / 1.5 cm at 5 min | Stepan alkoxylate guide |
| Solubility | Soluble in water, methanol, xylene; insoluble in kerosene | Stepan bulletin |
| RVOC (US EPA method) | 0% | Stepan bulletin |
Applications
HI&I cleaning
Manufacturer application data for the 6-EO grade covers laundry, hard-surface, carpet, and hand-dish cleaning plus institutional and industrial detergents. The draw is detergency with speed. Surface tension drops to 26.6 dynes/cm at 0.1%, wetting completes in 5 seconds, and foam flashes to 12.5 cm then collapses to 1.5 cm within 5 minutes.
For acidic bathroom and soap-scum formulas, US Patent 8,383,566 names branched isodecyl alcohol ethoxylates among its suitable nonionics, with the nonionic constituent at about 0.05–7.5 wt% and a preferred alcohol ethoxylate at 0.5–2.5 wt%. Stepan also reports the 6-EO grade meets the EPA Safer Choice surfactant screen and is CleanGredients-listed; confirm the listing for the manufacturer you qualify.
Agrochemicals
The 4/6/9-EO series works as emulsifiers and emulsifier-blend components for pesticide formulations, used as HLB variables to tune a blend around the target oil. Alcohol ethoxylates of this type are commonly cleared as EPA inert ingredients for pesticide formulations, but confirm the specific listing and CAS for the grade you buy before you rely on it.
Personal care
Under INCI Isodeceth-6 it functions as a surfactant and emulsifying agent. The CIR Expert Panel reviewed it by name within the alkyl PEG ethers and concluded the family is “safe as used when formulated to be nonirritating,” with a reported leave-on use concentration of 0.6%. That qualifier puts the burden on your lab: run irritation testing at your actual use level.
Industrial manufacturing
Published fields are textiles, paints and coatings, and latex manufacturing, in wetting and emulsification duty. It is soluble in water, methanol, and xylene and insoluble in kerosene, which sets the process fluids that can carry it.
Selecting a Grade
All three commercial grades share the branched-C10 hydrophobe and CAS 61827-42-7. The EO average is the single lever: raising it from 4 to 6 to 9 lifts HLB from 10 to 12 to 14 and the 1% cloud point from below 25 °C to 43 °C to 80 °C.
| Grade | HLB | Cloud point (1%) | Water behavior | Specify it for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isodeceth-4 | 10 | <25 °C | Dispersible | Lipophilic leg of emulsifier blends |
| Isodeceth-6 | 12 | 43 °C | Soluble | Ambient-temperature detergency and wetting |
| Isodeceth-9 | 14 | 80 °C | Soluble | Hot-process detergency |
Match cloud point to peak liquor temperature: a 50 °C wash or CIP step will cloud out the 6-EO grade, so specify Isodeceth-9 there. For emulsifier blends, pair grades across the HLB 10–14 span to hit the target oil’s required HLB, and compare adjacent chemistries in the nonionic surfactants archive before locking a spec.
Bulk Supply
RawSource supplies Isodeceth-6 in bulk, from LTL drum quantities through full-container loads, with a CoA and safety data sheet (SDS) on every shipment. Request a quote with your target EO grade (4, 6, or 9), volume, and any spec limits such as cloud point, pH, or color.
Sources
- Stepan MAKON DA Series Product Bulletin (Nov 2017)
- Stepan Alkoxylate Product Guide
- CIR Panel Book — Safety Assessment of Alkyl PEG Ethers
- Fiume et al., Int J Toxicol 2012 (CIR conclusion)
- US EPA — DfE Alternatives Assessment for Nonylphenol Ethoxylates (2012)
- FDA GSRS — Isodeceth-6 (UNII 278Z9G87XH)
- US Patent 8,383,566 — acidic hard-surface treatment compositions
Regulatory & registration requirements
- TSCA (US):
- REACH (EU): Not determined from public registry
- EC number: 612-519-5
TSCA Inventory flag XU: a substance exempt from reporting under the Chemical Data Reporting Rule (40 CFR 711) (EPA flag legend).
Source: EPA TSCA Inventory (July 2025 release) · ECHA CHEM — retrieved 2026-07-12
Frequently Asked Questions
Is alcohol ethoxylate harmful?
The published record for the class is favorable: EPA’s DfE alternatives assessment identifies alcohol ethoxylates as meeting its safer-surfactant criteria for replacing nonylphenol ethoxylates, and the CIR Expert Panel concluded the alkyl PEG ether family that includes Isodeceth-6 is “safe as used when formulated to be nonirritating.” The neat surfactant is a different matter: consult your lot’s safety data sheet (SDS) for its hazard classification before handling drums, and run irritation testing at your actual use concentration.
What products contain alcohol ethoxylates?
Cleaning products dominate the class. In acidic bathroom and soap-scum cleaners, US Patent 8,383,566 places a branched isodecyl alcohol ethoxylate at roughly 0.5–2.5 wt% of the finished formula, alongside laundry and hand-dish products. The same chemistry carries into cosmetics (the CIR panel records a leave-on use of Isodeceth-6 around 0.6%) and into agrochemical emulsifier blends and textile, coatings, and latex processing. Alcohol ethoxylates of this type are commonly cleared as EPA inert ingredients for pesticide formulations; confirm the specific listing and CAS for your material.
Why are ethoxylated ingredients bad?
The criticism is aimed at process residuals rather than the finished surfactant: ethoxylation runs on ethylene oxide, and trace ethylene oxide or 1,4-dioxane can carry into the product if the manufacturer does not control them. That makes it a supplier-qualification issue — put residual limits in your spec and hold each lot to its CoA. The finished surfactant itself was reviewed by name in the CIR Expert Panel’s assessment of the alkyl PEG ethers, which cleared the family for use provided a formula is built to be nonirritating.
What is isodecyl alcohol?
Isodecyl alcohol is a branched, ten-carbon (C10) synthetic alcohol — the CIR panel describes the commercial material as a mixture of branched C10 isomers, not a single molecule. It is the hydrophobe in this surfactant series. Ethoxylating it to an average of 6 moles of ethylene oxide gives Isodeceth-6 (CAS 61827-42-7); stopping at 4 or continuing to 9 moles gives the sister grades.
What is the structure of isodecyl alcohol ethoxylate?
A branched isodecyl (C10) chain ether-linked to a polyethylene glycol chain: R(OCH2CH2)nOH, with n averaging 6 for Isodeceth-6. Both the branching and the EO chain length are distributions, so the nominal n=6 structure calculates to 422.60 g/mol while the average molecular weight runs about 431 g/mol. CAS 61827-42-7 covers the isodecyl ethoxylate. A related registration, Alcohols, C9-11-iso-, C10-rich, ethoxylated (CAS 78330-20-8), is mapped to the same INCI by some suppliers but covers a broader C9–11 feedstock; confirm which registration your lot ships under.
What is the difference between Isodeceth-4, Isodeceth-6, and Isodeceth-9?
Only the ethoxylation level moves. All three grades are built on the same branched-C10 hydrophobe and share CAS 61827-42-7, so the EO average is the one variable that sets each grade’s behavior: adding ethylene oxide (4 → 6 → 9) raises HLB and cloud point together, carrying the surfactant from oil-loving toward fully water-soluble. That is why grade choice comes down to two numbers — your process’s peak temperature and the target oil’s required HLB. The Selecting a Grade table above pairs each grade to those, so match against it rather than re-deriving the numbers here.
Where can you buy Isodeceth-6 in bulk?
RawSource supplies Isodeceth-6 in bulk to US buyers, from LTL drum quantities through full-container loads, with a certificate of analysis (CoA) and SDS on every shipment. Published packaging for the chemistry is 425 lb (193 kg) drums plus bulk tanks; drums stored below 16 °C can thicken, since the pour point is 6 °C, so plan a drum heater into cold-warehouse handling. Request a quote with your target EO grade (4, 6, or 9), volume, and any spec limits such as cloud point, pH, or color.
What is the REACH and TSCA regulatory status of Isodeceth-6?
Isodeceth-6 (CAS 61827-42-7) is listed as Active on the U.S. EPA TSCA Inventory; its REACH registration status is not determined from the public ECHA registry.