surfactant vs surface-active agent

surfactant and surface-active agent both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
surfactant	Yes	No	No	No
surface-active agent	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, surfactant and surface-active agent are synonyms defined as:

surfactant and surface-active agent: a chemical agent capable of reducing the surface tension of a liquid in which it is dissolved

Other synonyms of surfactant include wetter, wetting agent.

surfactant (noun)	surface-active agent (noun)
a chemical agent capable of reducing the surface tension of a liquid in which it is dissolved	a chemical agent capable of reducing the surface tension of a liquid in which it is dissolved