Synthesis of stable nanoparticles at harsh environment using the synergistic effect of surfactants blend

Synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) that can withstand high temperature and high salinity (HT-HS) is a big challenge in the research community. A novel strategy to synthesize stable nanoparticles under harsh environment (HT-HS) is proposed in this work by using the synergistic effect of a surfactant mixture. Long-term stable iron oxide nanoparticles at HT-HS conditions were produced and stabilized by two different surfactant classes, i.e. sulfonate surfactant for high temperature resistance and ethoxylated alcohol surfactant for high salinity resistance. The results prove that the new strategy could be used for production of stable NPs which is suitable for enhanced oil recovery application.