DETERGENT

You mean surfactants which are the main ingradients of detergent . There are 4 different surfactants : anionic , cationic , non-ionic & amphoteric . When the surfactant is dissolved in water to form an structure for example :CnHmCOONa------> CnHMCOO- +Na+ , this is anionic surfactant. If the CxHy(CH3)N+ +CL- , this is cationic surfactant , if the structure does not ionization , it is non-ionic . If the structure has different ionic state in different pH , it is amphoteric . Different types of surfactant have different functions to be used in different fields of application.