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Interaction of Surface-Modified Alumina Nanoparticles and Surfactants at an Oil/Water Interface: A Neutron Reflectometry, Scattering, and Enhanced Oil Recovery Study

Wafaa Al-Shatty Orcid Logo, Mario Campana, Shirin Alexander Orcid Logo, Andrew Barron Orcid Logo

ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, Volume: 14, Issue: 17, Pages: 19505 - 19514

Swansea University Authors: Wafaa Al-Shatty Orcid Logo, Shirin Alexander Orcid Logo, Andrew Barron Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1021/acsami.2c02228

Abstract

The evaluation of the mechanism of nanoparticle (NP)/surfactant complex adsorption at the critical oil/water interface was studied. A sophisticated technique (neutron reflectometry) was used to give a unique insight on NP/oil interactions in oil recovery systems. Herein, the adsorption of two modifi...

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Published in: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
ISSN: 1944-8244 1944-8252
Published: American Chemical Society (ACS) 2022
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa59904
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Abstract: The evaluation of the mechanism of nanoparticle (NP)/surfactant complex adsorption at the critical oil/water interface was studied. A sophisticated technique (neutron reflectometry) was used to give a unique insight on NP/oil interactions in oil recovery systems. Herein, the adsorption of two modified alumina NPs with different degrees of hydrophobicity [hydrophilic = 2-[2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy]acetic acid and hydrophobic = octanoic acid (OCT)] stabilized with two different surfactants were studied at the oil/water interface. A thin layer of deuterated (D) and hydrogenated (H) hexadecane (contrast matching silicon substrate) oil was formed on a silicon block by a spin coating freeze process. The distribution of the NPs across the oil/water interface with the CTAB surfactant is similar between the two systems. NPs coated with CTAB have more affinity toward the oil/water interface, which explains the oil recovery increase by around 5% when flooding the core with the OCT-NP/CTAB system compared to the surfactant flooding alone. These results suggest that the NP/surfactant complexes can have potential usage in EOR recovery applications.
Keywords: oil; water; interface; neutron reflectometry; functionalization; nanoparticles
College: Faculty of Science and Engineering
Funders: Llywodraeth Cymru Science and Technology Facilities Council
Issue: 17
Start Page: 19505
End Page: 19514