Thermal-resistant, shear-stable and salt-tolerant polyacrylamide/surface-modified graphene oxide composite

The temperature resistance, shear stability and salinity tolerance of the polymer are crucial as a chemical agent for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) involving high-temperature and high-salinity reservoirs. In this work, triethoxyvinylsilane (VTEO) molecules were first covalently bound to the surface of the graphene oxide (GO) to synthesize the sGO, and then, the sGO was copolymerized with acrylamide (AM) to prepare the PAM/sGO composite. The composite was also characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. Additionally, temperature resistance, shear stability and salinity tolerance were evaluated to determine the performance of the composite. These results indicate that the synthesized composite exhibits novel thermal-resistant, shear-stable and salinity-tolerant performance as a new EOR agent in high-temperature and high-salinity reservoirs. Furthermore, the stability mechanisms of the composite were revealed through the analysis of the interactions between GO sheets and polymer matrix in the microstructure.