Abstract
Although stimuli-responsive release systems have attracted great attention in medical applications, there has been no attempt at “precise” deep profile control based on such systems, which is greatly need to improve oil recovery. With this in mind, we provided a facile and simple strategy to prepare stimuli-responsive composite capsules of amphiphilic dendrimers–poly(styrene sulfonic acid) sodium/halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) via layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly technique, controlling the release crosslinking agent methenamine under different pH or salinity conditions. The release time of methenamine encapsulated in multilayer shells is about 40 h, which can be prolonged with the introduction of salt or shortened via the addition of acid, which accordingly induces the gelation of polyacrylamide (PAM) solutions, taking from a few hours to a dozen days. This study provided a novel approach for controllable release of chemical agents and controllable crosslinking of deep profiles in many application fields.
Highlights
Stimuli-responsive delivery devices, known as “smart” release nanosystems, are poised to be used in diverse applications such as tumor therapy, antisepsis, and corrosion protection, which require tuning release via external stimuli [1,2,3]
The constructing process of Gn C12 /poly(styrene sulfonic acid) sodium (PSS) LbL thin films and the responsive performances in the external environment were investigated with the quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) method in situ
LbL nanoshells are fabricated by assembling alternating layers of Gn C12 and PSS onto halloysite nanotubes (HNTs), which is demonstrated by zeta potential measurements (Figure 1d–f)
Summary
Stimuli-responsive delivery devices, known as “smart” release nanosystems, are poised to be used in diverse applications such as tumor therapy, antisepsis, and corrosion protection, which require tuning release via external stimuli [1,2,3]. Controllable release systems have been desired in practical application fields such as the petroleum industry due to the great need for “precise” profile control in order to enhance oil recovery [4,5,6,7]. Deep control seems to be a promising way to solve the problem by improving the efficiency of the water sweeping process into the middle-low permeability reservoir, enhancing oil recovery. The traditional method in profile control is that the mixing fluid, composed of polyacrylamide and a crosslinking agent, is injected without “precise” control of the gelation time, causing a blockage. Stimuli-responsive nanocapsules are proposed as a potential candidate system to realize precise deep control and improve the efficiency of oil production through controlling the releasing rate of the crosslinking agent and correspondingly regulating the gelation time and position [9]. Such research and technology are still lacking, due to missing materials and insufficient understanding of the related stimuli-responsive mechanisms
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