Applications of Smart Wormlike Micelles

Abstract

The end purpose of formulating smart wormlike micelles is undoubtedly to use them for practical applications. Their micellar structure and reversibly switchable viscoelastic properties offer opportunities for uses where controllable encapsulation and thickening are needed. A series of potential applications are described in this chapter, including biomedicine, cleaning, as electrorheological and photorheological fluids, for templating, and drag reduction, amongst others. However, the only current success stories of SWLMs commercial applications come from oil well stimulation processes, including as clean fracturing fluids and for self-diverting acidizing, which are discussed at length in this chapter.Keywords Applications of SWLMs · Oil well stimulation · Clean fracturing fluids · Self-diverting acidizing · Drag reduction · Biomedicine · Electrorheological fluids · Photo-rheological fluidsThe field of stimuli-responsive materials, in particular applied to hydrogels, has grown considerably over the past decade [1]. A plethora of "intelligent" nanostructured systems has emerged and been proposed for a wide range of applications, for instance, in electronic devices, as "smart" optical systems [2], micro-electromechanical systems, in coatings, and quite significantly in the biomedical field for drug delivery, diagnostics, bioseparation, as biosensors, and artificial organs and tissues [1][2][3]. Traditionally, these materials have been based predominantly on polymers; however, as previous chapters have shown, smart WLMs can display properties of "soft" gels, as a result of their entanglements [4][5][6][7]. Their micellar nature provides an opportunity for encapsulation and release, particularly relevant to the areas of drug delivery, the liberation of perfumes or to cleaning processes.Being still a very young field, applications of SWLMs as such are still largely speculative. While many of the advances discussed in this book respond to specific needs and are driven by a final use, they have not yet reached commercialization. Perhaps the only success stories of scale-up applications originate from the oil industry, where SWLMs have been extensively used in the various stages of the process,

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