First Magnetic Soap

BRISTOL, UK -- A team of international scientists, led by Bristol University Professor of Chemistry Julian Eastoe, created a liquid soap containing iron atoms which help form tiny particles; it could revolutionize the clean-up of dangerous oil spills because t's the first cleaning surfactant that responds to magnets , setting the world record for the First magnetic soap. Chemists at Bristol University create a magnetic surfactant by incorporating iron into the liquid's molecules. This raises all sorts of interesting possibilities for controlling the movement and flow of these liquids.

For long, researchers have been searching for a way to control soaps (or surfactants as they are known in industry) once they are in solution to increase the ability to dissolve oils in water and then remove them from a system.