[CCoE Notice] MS Thesis: Impact of Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticles on Interfacial Tension

[Grayson, Audrey A]

MS THESIS DEFENSE STUDENT: Ammar Aboalsaud
DATE: Monday,May 2, 2016
TIME: 3:00 PM
PLACE: Mechanical Engineering Large Conference Room
THESIS CHAIR: Dr. Ramanan Krishnamoorti
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TITLE:

IMPACT OF POLYMER-GRAFTED NANOPARTICLES ON INTERFACIAL TENSION

            Emulsifiers have been extensively studied for various applications, the most common of which is possibly enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The use of polymer-grafted nanoparticles as emulsifiers has been gaining interest for their small size as well as their interfacial tension reduction capabilities. This thesis investigates the impact of polymer-grafted nanoparticles on the interfacial tension between oil and water. The oil used in this study was Hexane.
            Two different types of polymer-grafted nanoparticles have been investigated in this study. The first is the poly(p(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate))-grafted silica nanoparticles, SiO2-POEOMA, which is a type of hydrophilic homopolymer-grafted nanoparticles. The second is the poly(methyl acrylate-co-p(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate)-grafted silica nanoparticles, SiO2-P(MA-b-OEOMA), which is a type of amphiphilic block copolymer-grafted nanoparticles. Both the effect of changing the hybrid nanoparticle solution concentration, as well as the effect of changing the molecular weight of the grafted polymer chains were investigated.
            The study concluded that the interfacial tension reduction ability of the polymer-grafted nanoparticles enhances with increasing the hybrid nanoparticles solution concentration, and with increasing the molecular weight of the grafted polymer chains. Increasing the hybrid nanoparticles solution concentration enhances it by providing additional particles to pack at the interface, while increasing the molecular weight of the polymer chains enhances it by increasing the size of the particles, thus increasing the energy required to detach the particles from the interface.
The study also concluded that the amphiphilic block copolymer-grafted nanoparticles have better interfacial tension reduction capabilities than the hydrophilic homopolymer-grafted nanoparticles. We believe the reason behind this to be the segregation of the polymer chains between the oil and water molecules at the interface, providing enhanced attachment.
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