Vesicle formation of single-chain amphiphilic 4-dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid in water and micelle-to-vesicle transition induced by wet–dry cycles

Aggregation behavior of DBSA, in water was investigated, showing a concentration-driven micelle-to-vesicle transition. Interestingly, wet–dry cycles can induce micelle-to-vesicle transition and multilamellar vesicle formation.

Asphaltene Deposition and Removal in Flowlines and Mitigation by Effective Functional Molecules

Summary Efficient removal of deposited asphaltenes on the surface of metallic flowlines by functional molecules is investigated by nonionic and ionic surfactants at low concentrations. Deposition removal by aromatic solvent toluene is measured as a reference. Water is often coproduced with crude oil and may affect deposition of asphaltenes and removal. In this study, we investigate the effect of water in both asphaltene deposition and removal by functional molecules. Two different crudes from different fields that give rise to serious asphaltene deposition are extensively investigated. For these two crudes, we find one ionic and one nonionic surfactant to be effective in deposition removal at 1 wt% concentration in the crude. This concentration is much lower than that of the commonly studied acidic dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid (DBSA) surfactant. Toluene concentration in the crude varies from 40 to 60 wt% for asphaltene deposition removal. Water delays deposition significantly. However, water does not have an appreciable effect on performance of functional molecules on removal of deposited asphaltenes.

Graphene Oxide Decorated Nanometal-Poly(Anilino-Dodecylbenzene Sulfonic Acid) for Application in High Performance Supercapacitors

Graphene oxide (GO) decorated with silver (Ag), copper (Cu) or platinum (Pt) nanoparticles that are anchored on dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid (DBSA)-doped polyaniline (PANI) were prepared by a simple one-step method and applied as novel materials for high performance supercapacitors. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM) analyses revealed that a metal-decorated polymer matrix is embedded within the GO sheet. This caused the M/DBSA–PANI (M = Ag, Cu or Pt) particles to adsorb on the surface of the GO sheets, appearing as aggregated dark regions in the HRSEM images. The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy studies revealed that GO was successfully produced and decorated with Ag, Cu or Pt nanoparticles anchored on DBSA–PANI. This was confirmed by the appearance of the GO signature epoxy C–O vibration band at 1040 cm−1 (which decreased upon the introduction of metal nanoparticle) and the PANI characteristic N–H stretching vibration band at 3144 cm−1 present only in the GO/M/DBSA–PANI systems. The composites were tested for their suitability as supercapacitor materials; and specific capacitance values of 206.4, 192.8 and 227.2 F·g−1 were determined for GO/Ag/DBSA–PANI, GO/Cu/DBSA–PANI and GO/Pt/DBSA–PANI, respectively. The GO/Pt/DBSA–PANI electrode exhibited the best specific capacitance value of the three electrodes and also had twice the specific capacitance value reported for Graphene/MnO2//ACN (113.5 F·g−1). This makes GO/Pt/DBSA–PANI a very promising organic supercapacitor material.