Size Effects of NiO Nanoparticles on the Competitive Adsorption of Quinolin-65 and Violanthrone-79: Implications for Oil Upgrading and Recovery

Abstract

Using Quinolin-65 (Q-65) and Violantrone (V-79) as model molecules for polar heavy hydrocarbons and resins, the nanosize effects of NiO nanoparticles on the competitive molecular adsorption on nanoparticles were conducted using multiwavelength UV−visible derivative spectrophotometry method. This is important for understanding the role of nanoparticles in oil upgrading and recovery processes. Computer simulations were also carried out to validate the experimental findings and provide more insights on the interactions between the Q-65 and/or V79 molecules and the NiO nanoparticle surface. Different-sized NiO nanoparticles (5, 40, and >100 nm) were synthesized by controlled thermal dehydroxylation of Ni(OH) 2 . Nanoparticles were characterized using XRD, BET, FTIR, and XPS. Macroscopic adsorption isotherms of Q-65 and V-79 molecules over 5 and 40 nm NiO nanoparticles were evaluated in toluenebased solutions as individual and binary solutions. On a normalized surface area basis, the number of Q-65 and V-79 molecules adsorbed per nm 2 of the NiO surface was the highest for 40 nm NiO nanoparticles and lowest for 5 nm NiO. Results also indicated that NiO nanoparticles were more prone to adsorb V-79 than Q-65. Equilibrium binding constants for V-79 and Q-65, determined by the Langmuir adsorption model, showed the binding affinity for V-79 is size dependent. Simultaneous competitive adsorption between V-79 and Q-65 showed that V-79 concentration is an important factor influencing the uptake of both V-79 and Q-65, whereas the concentration of Q-65 affects only Q-65 uptake. Computational modeling results were consistent with the experimental results, confirming our conclusions about the adsorption process in this binary system.

Exploring the effect of partial B-site Al3+–Mg2+ dual substitution on optoelectronic, surface, and photocatalytic properties of BaTaO2N

“…32 Another study has shown that the nickel modification can improve the adsorption of water molecules on anatase-TiO 2 , rutile-TiO 2 , and ZnO photoanodes, enhancing their photoelectrochemical performance. 61 Particularly, Adsorption Locator for modelling has been broadly used for evaluating the adsorption interaction or non-bonded energies of organic and water molecules for various applications, including biomolecule/surface interactions, 62 adsorption of SiF 4 and HF gaseous molecules at the molecular level, 63 next-generation protein-based biosensor surfaces, 64 catalyst/adsorbents for oil recovery and viscosity reduction process, 65 drug delivery tool in biological systems, 66 etc. Here, the influence of the Al 3+ –Mg 2+ dual substitution on the adsorption of water molecules on the BaTaO 2 N(110) surfaces was also explored by combined Molecular Dynamics and Monte-Carlo computer simulation.…”