Crystal growth of magnesium oxide nanocompounds for wetting alteration of carbonate surfaces

Surface wettability is one of principle chemi-physical properties to govern different processes. We report the wetting behavior of carbonate surfaces modified by MgO nanofluids. Synthesized nanoparticles were dispersed in distilled water using different mixtures of surfactants and co-surfactants. The nanoparticles were prepared by sol-gel hydrothermal method. The prepared oil-wet slices were treated with the MgO nanofluids for modification of their surface wettability to water-wet. The synthesized nanofluids were screened by measuring heptane/water and air/water static contact angles for the samples treated with similar concentrations of the nanofluids at different temperatures. The selected nanofluid includes a mixture of Tween 80, LA3, NPE-9EO, oleic acid, and Span 83 to stabilize the MgO nanoparticles. The SEM analysis demonstrates that the crystallization of dissolved nanomaterials develops some nanostructures on the solid surfaces, which are responsible for wettability alteration toward water-wetting state. Different treatment conditions for the nanofluid have been analyzed via a parametric study. The investigated parameters are the treatment temperature, time, and the concentration of nanofluid. The results show that optimum conditions for wetting alteration induced by crystal growth of the selected nanofluid are the concentration of 10 wt%, the temperature of 70 degrees C, and the treatment time of three days.