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Petroleum Science > DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.petsci.2025.10.013
Formulation, stability, and synergistic characteristics of diesel-in-water pickering emulsions stabilized by titanium carbide (Ti3C2Tx) MXene and Tween 40 Open Access
文章信息
作者:Nansee S.K. Abu Zaid, Aaminah Johar, Mustafa S. Nasser, Khaled A. Mahmoud, Sagheer A. Onaizi
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引用方式:Nansee S.K. Abu Zaid, Aaminah Johar, Mustafa S. Nasser, Khaled A. Mahmoud, Sagheer A. Onaizi, Formulation, stability, and synergistic characteristics of diesel-in-water pickering emulsions stabilized by titanium carbide (Ti3C2Tx) MXene and Tween 40, Petroleum Science, 2025, http://doi.org/10.1016/j.petsci.2025.10.013.
文章摘要
Abstract: Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations increasingly depend on emulsion-based formulations that exhibit long-term stability under reservoir conditions while minimizing surfactant dosage. In this context, hybrid systems combining nanoparticles and surfactants offer a promising route to achieving both interfacial stability and formulation efficiency. Among potential nanoparticle candidates, Ti3C2Tx MXene exhibits high surface area and interfacial activity. However, its application in diesel-in-water Pickering emulsions under EOR-relevant conditions has not been explored. Challenges such as high hydrophilicity and strong electrostatic repulsion have limited the use of unmodified MXene as a standalone stabilizer in colloidal systems. To address this limitation, diesel-in-water Pickering emulsions were formulated using DL-Ti3C2Tx MXene combined with Tween 40 (0.5 wt%) and antifoam (0.15 wt%), aiming to investigate their synergistic stabilization behavior across MXene concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 1.5 wt%. The MXene-only system exhibited complete and immediate phase separation, whereas the hybrid emulsions demonstrated markedly enhanced stability, with no phase separation observed at 0.1 and 0.5 wt% after 24 h. A concentration-dependent trend was evident. At lower MXene contents, interfacial adsorption improved, and droplet sizes remained small and uniform. At higher concentrations (≥1.0 wt%), aggregation increased, and demulsification became more pronounced. Interfacial tension decreased steadily with increasing MXene content, reaching 0.86 mN/m at 1.5 wt%, while zeta potential remained strongly negative (-47.7 mV at 0.5 wt%), indicating sufficient electrostatic repulsion. Rheological analysis revealed a transition to shear-thinning behavior at higher MXene contents, confirming the formation of internal network structures. Compared to other reported systems based on silica (SiO2), zinc oxide (ZnO), or functionalized MXenes, the MXene-Tween 40 formulation achieved superior short- and long-term emulsion stability without requiring surface modification or external stimuli. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report the successful stabilization of diesel-in-water Pickering emulsions using unmodified Ti3C2Tx MXene. These findings highlight the synergistic interaction between MXene and Tween 40 and present a robust, surfactant-lean formulation suitable for oilfield applications.
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Keywords: Titanium Carbide (Ti3C2Tx) MXene Nanosheets; Oil-in-Water (O/W) Pickering Emulsions; Tween 40 Chemical Surfactant; Pickering Emulsion Characteristics; Emulsion Stability; Emulsion Rheology