International Journal of Nano Dimension
Volume:13 Issue: 1, Winter 2022

Nanotechnology has the capability to modernize both the upstream and downstream oil and gas industry. It has been effectively used in exploration, drilling, production, refinery as well as in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) fields. Understanding the basics of scaling criteria development along with nanoparticle stabilized EOR mechanism will assist petroleum engineers in designing, analyzing, and evaluating nanoparticle-assisted EOR techniques. This paper aims to deliver a critical review on nanoparticle-assisted EOR methods along with introducing scaling approaches and their applications in EOR. Scaling criteria can be employed to assess the performance of a specific EOR technique so that it can be accurately applied to the field scale. In this study, scaling criteria or dimensionless approaches are briefly summarized along with their applications in EOR. In addition, it reviews how scaling criteria can be derived using a mathematical model along with their benefits and shortcomings. This work concentrates on assessing the application of nanoparticles in EOR processes and addresses the process controlling parameters. This study briefly evaluates a few appropriate analytical and semi-analytical studies directly related to nanoparticle-assisted EOR techniques. Several nanoparticles assisted experimental works have been reviewed for both core flooding and micromodel systems.

A comparative spectral study of water–acetonitrile systems containing photochromic spiropyran and spirooxazine derivatives in the absence and in the presence of silica nanoparticles was carried out. The photoinduced formation of proton complexes beetwen phenolic oxygen of the colored forms of spirocompounds and the surface hydroxyl groups of silica nanoparticles was established for all of the derivatives. The photoinduced proton complexes of the spiropyrans exhibit positive photochromism on the surface of silica nanoparticles. It is assumed that the previously discovered negative photochromism is due to the formation of proton complexes with not only phenolic oxygen, but also the OH group at the nitrogen atom of the indoline spiropyran moiety. These complexes can also exist in the absence of nanoparticles, because of interaction with water molecules.A comparative spectral study of water–acetonitrile systems containing photochromic spiropyran and spirooxazine derivatives in the absence and in the presence of silica nanoparticles was carried out. The photoinduced formation of proton complexes beetwen phenolic oxygen of the colored forms of spirocompounds and the surface hydroxyl groups of silica nanoparticles was established for all of the derivatives. The photoinduced proton complexes of the spiropyrans exhibit positive photochromism on the surface of silica nanoparticles. It is assumed that the previously discovered negative photochromism is due to the formation of proton complexes with not only phenolic oxygen, but also the OH group at the nitrogen atom of the indoline spiropyran moiety. These complexes can also exist in the absence of nanoparticles, because of interaction with water molecules.

In the present study, phosphotungstic acid decorated on magnetic amine-grafted graphene oxide (GO-Amine/Fe3O4/H3PW12O40; GOA/Fe3O4/HPW) was prepared and evaluated as a new adsorbent for removal and separation of organic dyes from water. The obtained nanocomposite was fully characterized by means of XRD, FT-IR, Raman, VSM, SEM, EDX, AFM and BET surface area analysis. The results demonstrated the successful loading of HPW (~34 wt.%) on the surface of magnetic aminosilanized graphene oxide. The adsorption ability of the nanocomposite was tested towards cationic methylene blue (MB) and anionic methyl orange (MO) dyes. The nanocomposite exhibited very good adsorption performance for cationic organic pollutants; it could absorb approximately 100% of methylene blue (MB) from an aqueous solution within only 5 min. The removal rate of GOA/Fe3O4/HPW nanocomposite was greater than that of pure GOA, Fe3O4 and HPW. Further study revealed that the GOA/Fe3O4/HPW exhibited a fast adsorption rate and selective adsorption ability towards the cationic dyes from dyes mixtures.The effect of adsorbent dosage, initial concentration of dye and pH were studied in detail. Due to the existence of the Fe3O4, the GOA/Fe3O4/HPW nanocomposite could be magnetically separated from the reaction mixture and reused without any change in structure. This research could provide a new easy platform for wastewater purification.

In this paper, the buckling behavior and nonlinear vibrations of graphene nanosheets in the magnetic field are studied analytically. By considering mechanical and magnetic interactions, new relationships have been proposed for the forces exerted by the magnetic field. The nonlinear governing equation is derived using Kirchhoff's thin plate theory in conjunction with the nonlocal strain gradient theory of elasticity and von Karman's nonlinear strain-displacement relation. The nonlinear governing equation is discretized using the Galerkin method. According to the method of multiple scales, the approximate analytical solutions are extracted. For the three considered boundary conditions, nonlinear natural frequencies and amplitude-frequency curves are computed for different values ​​of magnetic field and nonlocal parameters. The results show that increasing the nonlocal parameter and applying a magnetic field reduces the flexural stiffness and increases the in-plate compressive force which results in reducing the natural frequency. In addition, excessive magnification of the magnetic field causes static buckling. The value of the critical magnetic field is highly dependent on the type of boundary conditions.

Phosphorene nanoribbon (PNR) is a two-dimensional crystalline substance possessing semiconductor property, which makes it a new promising gas sensor. The gas sensing performance significantly depends on the adsorption mechanism and the strength of bonding between gas molecules and phosphorene atoms. Adsorption of a gas molecule onto PNR can be investigated through different parameters, such as interatomic energy, distance between atoms, and changes in the band gap energy of PNR. In this research, first, the PNR relaxation is carried out for minimum energy of whole structure. Second, the folding and tubing of PNR are investigated for their stability and minimum energy specification. Next, we constructed a phosphorene nanotube (PNT) by connecting two folded PNR that we called it unconventional PNT (UPNT). We compared conventional cylindrical PNT (CPNT) with UPNT for their energies and electrical properties. In the final step, as gas nanosensor, the gas sensing behavior and specifications of CPNT and UPNT are investigated in the presence of several gases. Since a phosphorene nanotube generally has a stable structure, the presence of gas molecules causes deformation of crystalline of structure and change in its electronic properties. For evaluating the sensing properties of CPNT and UPNT, their I-V characteristics, density of states and energy band diagrams are calculated and compared in the absence and presence of gas molecules. The adsorption of CO, , , NH, and  gas molecules onto UPNT and CPNT are done in detail. The results show that the sensitivity of UPNT gas sensor is higher than that of CPNT for detecting special gas molecules. We further investigated the amount of charge transfer utilizing the nonequilibrium Green’s function (NEGF) formalism which is applied on crystallized atomic configuration.

Magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles coated with thiol functionalized mesoporous silica (TFMS) were prepared and usedas a novel adsorbent for Pb2+ and Ag+ removal. FTIR spectra confirmed the Fe3O4 nanoparticle cores coated with mesoporous silica and indicated the presence of thiol groups on the surface. XRD analyses showed that synthesized adsorbent has a face-centered cubic magnetite phase structure. The best removal results were obtained at pH=5-7 and a stirring time of 15 minutes. The lowest amount of 3M nitric acid for stripping the target species from adsorbent was 40 mL. The data was found to fit the Langmuir model, and the respective maximum capacities of the adsorbent for Pb2+ and Ag+ ionswas 1000.0 (±1.5) µg and 1111.0 (±1.2) µg of the target species per mg of the adsorbent. The developed adsorbent was successfully applied in wastewater samples.

This study evaluated the light transmission characteristics of a single modular fiber with a cylindrical microchannel using the FDTD method. To this end, various microchannel diameters (4-11μm) were explored. The SMF included a silica core (n=1.4) coated by a nanodiamond layer with a refractive index of 2.42. The impact of Fabry-Perot resonance was evidently detected in transmission features. At constant , the light transmission variations depended on the refractive index of the microchannel. A significant change was observed in the upon altering the microchannel refractive index. Based on the results, a microchannel-based SMF with different diameters can be employed for refractive index sensing. In the cases where the diameter of the microchannel largely differs from that of the core (8μm), the transmission variations were negligible. The numerical results are in good agreement with those reported in the microhole or microchannel experiment. The highest and lowest transmissions were recorded for the microchannel at diameters of 4 and 11μm, respectively. Comparing related experimental and numerical results show proper control of the microchannel diameter can enhance light transmission through the core-microchannel. The sensitivity of the refractive index to the microchannel diameter is a promising feature that can be exploited for developing various fiber optical devices.

In this research, a new organic–inorganic hybrid photocatalyst (TCMP@TiO2) was successfully synthesized through supporting tetrachloromenthoxyphosphor (III) (TCMP) on titanium dioxide (TiO2) for elimination of methyl violet (MV) color from water media. The hybrid inorganic-organic catalyst of this nanocomposite was characterized by 1H-NMR, 31P-NMR, 13C-NMR, UV-Vis, IR, SEM, and mass spectrometry methods. The maximum dye elimination and significance of variables on the dye removal system in static condition were evaluated by response surface methodology (RSM). The maximum dye removal (83.6%) of MV was obtained under optimum conditions (0.02 g catalyst dosage, 35 °C, and pH 8) in the presence of 1.5 mM of hydrogen peroxide. The higher regression coefficient of the response and the variables (R2=0.9275) showed a well investigation of the outcomes by a regression-based polynomial model. In comparison with the previously reported photocatalytic decolorization systems, the dye removal system suggested in this work is quick, easy, and involves a small amount of catalyst. This new photocatalyst shows potent visible‐light photocatalytic activity for the decolorization of methyl violet, due to the generation the strong oxidants hydroxyl radical ( OH) and superoxide anion radical ( O2-) via photoelectrochemical decomposition of H2O and O2 in the presence of visible light irradiation. These outcomes proposed that TCMP@TiO2 could be applied for significant removal of dyes from textile wastewater.

Magnetic nanoparticles have received much attention in synthesizing organic compounds due to their unique properties such as high contact surface, recyclability, and easy separation. In this study, Rice husk ash (RHA), an agriculture waste, was used as a silica source for MCM-41 synthesis. Ag2S/RHA-MCM-41 nanocomposite synthesized and characterized with FT-IR, SEM, and XRD. Prepared nanocomposite used for the synthesis of azo-linked 1, 2, 4-triazole-3-thione derivatives. Our study result showed that Ag2S/RHA-MCM-41 nanocomposite showed high activity in the synthesis of azo-linked 1, 2, 4-triazole-3-thione derivatives because of good yields and desirable reaction time. The structure of all compounds was determined by FTIR, 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR spectroscopy. In all reactions, the catalyst is easily removable and reusable, and its catalytic activity is maintained after five runs.

The electrical and thermal properties of polymer composites are enhanced by the incorporation of nano and micron fillers. Reported work on polymer composites with the combination of micro and nano sized fillers like silicon dioxide, alumina, silicon carbide, molybdenum disulphide, and graphite are limited. In this investigation, the AC conductivity of composites with the combination of micro and nano fillers were determined over a frequency range of 20 Hz to 10 MHz, at temperatures of 25, 50 and 75±2⁰ C. The thermal conductivity of composites was also determined to investigate the synergistic effects of the hybrid fillers. The AC conductivity of the composites shows minimal dependence in the low-frequency range, and it increases at higher frequencies. Composites with hybrid fillers exhibit relatively higher AC conductivity of 10-3 S/m at 75° C. The thermal conductivity of 0.68 W/m k which is achieved with molybdenum disulphide filler, is twice the value of the base epoxy. The composites with the combination of micro and nano sized fillers also reveal good enhancement of glass transition temperature to 145° C and exhibit better electrical and thermal properties than the composites with individual micron or nano fillers.