Effect of amphiphilic nanoparticles and non-ionic surfactants on emulsion stability

Abstract To investigate the effect of amphiphilic nanoparticles and nonionic surfactants on the stability of emulsions, SiO 2 nanoparticles were first locally surface modified with organosiloxanes of different carbon chain lengths to prepare amphiphilic nanoparticles with different hydrophobic properties, and then the effects of surfactant type and concentration, interfacial tension and its composite system with the amphiphilic nanoparticles on the stability of emulsions was investigated. The experimental results demonstrate, the OP-50 exhibits the most effective emulsification properties at a concentration of 0.1 %. However, the emulsion stability is significantly compromised. The emulsification effect of OP-50 with amphiphilic nanoparticles at a concentration of 0.1 % remained unaltered, while the emulsion stability was markedly enhanced compared to that of a single system. The modulus of expansion of OP-50 was 11.8 mN m −1 , while that of OP-50 compounded with C8-10:1 was 120 mN m −1 . The incorporation of modified nanoparticles with varying lengths of carbon chains was shown to effectively enhance the modulus of expansion of the oil–water interfacial interface. The results of this study are informative for the application of oil repellents in the mechanism of enhanced recovery.