Design and synthesis of novel di‐ and triblock amphiphilic polyelectrolytes: Improving salt‐induced viscosity reduction of water solutions for potential application in enhanced oil recovery

Abstract

In the present study, three different block copolymers based on styrene, tert‐butyl methacrylate, and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) were synthesized via sequential atom transfer radical polymerization. The addition of the GMA block was found to be best performed at 60°C. The polymers were then hydrolyzed and neutralized, to afford amphiphilic block copolymers, and the rheological properties of their aqueous solutions were measured, in order to investigate solution properties relevant for enhanced oil recovery, as a function of the polymer structure. It was observed that these polymers behave as thickening agents with shear thinning behavior. As expected, the polymers were sensitive to the presence of salt, as lower viscosities were recorded in saline water. However, the viscosity is less affected by high salinity, when compared to previously studied analogous diblock systems. In the best case, the viscosity only decreased by a factor of 1.8 upon salt addition whereas it decreased by a factor of 10 in previously reported non‐GMA containing polymers. Finally, thermo‐responsive behavior was found for one of the synthesized polymers. In particular, a hydrolyzed triblock poly[styrene‐b‐tert‐butyl methacrylate‐b‐glycidyl methacrylate], which synthesis is reported here for the first time, showed a thermothickening behavior, promising for the intended application in oil recovery.

Impact of additives on the rheological properties of associating water‐soluble multiblock polyelectrolytes

“…To achieve these properties, it is important to solubilize the polymer by dropwise a basic solution to the aqueous media until reaching a pH close to 9.0. In the last decades, these polymers have gained many interests due to their specific rheological properties and applications in different industrial areas such as: paints and/or coatings, 7–9 cosmetics, 10–12 drug delivery, 13–15 enhanced oil recovery, 13–19 for example. On the other hand, it is well known that several parameters could affect the rheological properties of associative polyelectrolytes in aqueous media which fundamentally depend on the fraction of ionic groups, 20–23 charge density, 24 the suitable solvent for dissolution of resultant polymer which affects the dynamic of the medium, 25 the dielectric constant, 26–29 the salt concentration, 30–34 and surfactant 35–38 .…”

Antibacterial Zirconia Surfaces from Organocatalyzed Atom-Transfer Radical Polymerization

“…Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) has proven to be a useful and adaptable tool for building well-defined polymer brushes with molar masses and graft density controls [23,24]. The main advantages of ATRP are its tolerance to a wide range of function groups on the monomer and the possibility to polymerize at room temperature in a large variety of solvents [25,26]. In addition, a suitable alkyl halide initiator group can be easily introduced via a reaction with 2-bromoisobutyryl bromide with surfaces bearing hydroxyl groups.…”