Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate (SMCT)

About This Product

Sodium methyl cocoyl taurate is produced by condensing coconut-derived fatty acids with N-methyltaurine. It carries CAS number 61791-42-2 and the INCI name Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, and is supplied as a white powder or paste, commonly abbreviated SMCT. The taurate head group is what distinguishes it. Because the sulfonate is attached through a stable carbon-sulfur bond rather than the carbon-oxygen-sulfur linkage of a sulfate, the molecule does not hydrolyse in acid or alkali, so it stays effective across a pH range from about 3 to 11 where a sulfate would degrade. The same head group is highly tolerant of calcium and magnesium ions, so SMCT continues to foam abundantly in hard water instead of precipitating as scum the way soap does and losing performance the way sodium lauryl sulfate does. The foam it produces is dense and creamy with excellent stability, and it is notably mild to skin and eyes. It is also a solid, so it can be pressed into syndet bars where a liquid surfactant cannot. It is used in syndet and cleansing bars, facial cleansers and foams, shampoos, baby products and shaving preparations. Bio Green Chem supplies SMCT to specification on active matter, free fatty acid, sodium chloride, sodium sulfate, pH and colour.