Graphene oxide-zinc oxide nanocomposites as multifunctional materials for thermally stable and high-performance biodegradable water-based drilling muds

Effective drilling operations are significantly influenced by the rheological, filtration, and lubricity properties of drilling muds, which directly impact mud flow, rate of penetration, and cuttings transport. However, conventional water-based muds(WBMs) often exhibit poor thermal stability and performance under high-temperature conditions. This study introduces graphene oxide-zinc oxide nanocomposites(GO-ZnO NCs) as multifunctional additives to improve and optimize WBMs performance. Initially, GO-ZnO NCs were synthesized via a solvothermal method and characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM-EDX), Fourier electron infrared analysis(FTIR), and thermogravimetric analysis. The synthesized nanocomposites were systematically evaluated for their effectiveness in improving the rheological, lubricity, and filtration properties of water-based muds across varying concentrations(0.1-1 wt%) and temperatures (85$${}^ \circ {\text{F}}$$ − 175$${}^ \circ {\text{F}}$$). Finally, WBM properties were optimized by using Response Surface Methodology (RSM).Morphology and structural analysis indicate the successful synthesis of GO-ZnONCs. Both the experimental results and RSM analysis showed a clear enhancement in drilling mud performance when GO-ZnO NCs were added. Plastic viscosity, yield point, and gel strength (10-sec and 10-min) increased by 25%,19.8%, 20% and 14.8% respectively. Additionally, a 20% reduction in filtration volume and a 7.1% improvement in lubricity were achieved. Significantly, with increasing temperatures the modified WBMs exhibited minor variation in the measured properties compared with conventional WBMs. The optimum formulation was achieved at 0.87wt% nanocomposite and 137$${}^ \circ {\text{F}}$$. These findings indicate that GO-ZnO NCs. are a promising, thermally stable additive for high performance WBMs. Future research should evaluate their cost-effectiveness and long-term stability to enable large-scale field application.