Interaction of surface-modified silica nanoparticles with clay minerals

Abstract

In this study, the adsorption of 5-nm silica nanoparticles onto montmorillonite and illite is investigated. The effect of surface functionalization was evaluated for four different surfaces: unmodified, surfacemodified with anionic (sulfonate), cationic (quaternary ammonium (quat)), and nonionic (polyethylene glycol (PEG)) surfactant. We employed ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy to determine the concentration of adsorbed nanoparticles in conditions that are likely to be found in subsurface reservoir environments. PEG-coated and quat/ PEG-coated silica nanoparticles were found to significantly adsorb onto the clay surfaces, and the effects of electrolyte type (NaCl, KCl) and concentration, nanoparticle concentration, pH, temperature, and clay type on PEG-coated nanoparticle adsorption were studied. The type and concentration of electrolytes were found to influence the degree of adsorption, suggesting a relationship between the interlayer spacing of the clay and the adsorption ability of the nanoparticles. Under the experimental conditions reported in this paper, the isotherms for nanoparticle adsorption onto montmorillonite at 25°C indicate that adsorption occurs less readily as the nanoparticle concentration increases.

Wettability alteration and retention of mixed polymer-grafted silica nanoparticles onto oil-wet porous medium

“…The results demonstrate that increase in the nanofluid concentrations had a significant effect on the θ reduction. It is consistent with previous studies about the silica nanoparticle concentrations on the calcite and the glass bead substrates (Al-Anssari et al 2016;Nikolov et al 2010;Rostami et al 2011) and retention of the modified silica by polyethylene glycol onto the clay minerals (Omurlu et al 2016). Furthermore, it can be concluded that when the hydrophobicity of the substrates is increased, the retention of the mixed polymer coating on the silica nanoparticles is also enhanced.…”

Ultraviolet aging study on bitumen modified by a composite of clay and fumed silica nanoparticles

“…Note that some silica NPs form dense bulks on the layers of clay NPs. With the increase of NPs in the surface unit, due to polarity and chemical bonding, nanolayers adsorb together and create bulkily aggregations 32,33 . Contrary, the blue colored structures are (advantageously) bonded with bitumen molecules and they are distributed in bitumen in terms of a uniform surface.…”

Aqueous hybrids of amino-functionalized nanosilica and acrylamide-based polymer for enhanced oil recovery

“…Conventional ooding polymer, such as partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM), experiences severe degradation under harsh reservoir conditions, for example, high temperature, high salinity (HTHS), and long ooding time (usually 1-12 months). [3][4][5][6][7] The application of nanoparticles in surface engineering has accelerated the development of nanotechnology and numerous new materials with a series of functional properties and applications have been developed. [8][9][10] Nanoparticles have a number of favorable characteristics such as high surface area, special optical and chemical responses, and active surfaces for application in the petroleum industry.…”