Correlation of Oil-Water and Air-Water Contact Angles of Diverse Silanized Surfaces and Relationship to Fluid Interfacial Tensions
The use of air-water, {Theta}{sub wa}, or air-liquid contact angles is customary in surface science, while oil-water contact angles {Theta}{sub ow}, are of paramount importance in subsurface multiphase flow phenomena including petroleum reocovery, nonaqueous phase liquid fate and transport, and geological carbon sequestration. In this paper we determine both the air-water and oil-water contact angles of silica surfaces modified with a diverse selection of silanes, using hexadecane as the oil. The silanes included alkylsilanes, alkylarylsilanes, and silanes with alkyl or aryl groups that are functionalized with heteroatoms such as N, O, and S. These silanes yielded surfaces with wettabilities from water-wet to oil wet, including specific silanized surfaces functionalized with heteroatoms that yield intermediate wet surfaces. The oil-water contact angles for clean and silanized surfaces, excluding one partially fluorinated surface, correlate linearly with air-water contact angles with a slope of 1.41 (R = 0.981, n = 13). These data were used to examine a previously untested theoretical treatment relating air-water and oil-water contact angles in terms of fluid interfacial energies. Plotting the cosines of these contact angles against one another, we obtain a linear relationship in excellent agreement with the theoretical treatment; the data fit cos {Theta}{sub ow} = 0.667 cos {Theta}{sub ow} + 0.384 (R = 0.981, n = 13), intercepting cos {Theta}{sub ow} = -1 at -0.284. The theoretical slope, based on the fluid interfacial tensions {Theta}{sub wa}, {Theta}{sub ow}, and {Theta}{sub oa}, is 0.67. We also demonstrate how silanes can be used to alter the wettability of the interior of a pore network micromodel device constructed in silicon/silica with a glass cover plate. Such micromodels are used to study multiphase flow phenomena. The contact angle of the resulting interior was determined in situ. An intermediate wet micromodel gave a contact angle in excellent agreement with that obtained on an open planar silica surface using the same silane.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (US), Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 1040663
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-83545; 39094
- Journal Information:
- Langmuir, Journal Name: Langmuir Journal Issue: 18 Vol. 28; ISSN LANGD5; ISSN 0743-7463
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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