Bis-urea-based supramolecular polymer: the first self-assembled drag reducer for hydrocarbon solvents

The hydrodynamic drag reduction phenomenon, also termed the Toms effect, is an unusual case involving macromolecules in solution in which the resistance to flow is reduced comparatively to that of the pure solvent. Although the effect is relatively well characterized, it is still unclear from the molecular viewpoint. The presence of some amount of a polymer with high molecular weight can produce large levels of drag reduction in turbulent flow as a result of the interactions of the long structures with the small vortices developed during the flow. For this reason, the effect is very attractive in the pumping process because a significant amount of energy can be saved. In aqueous systems, giant micelles can be spontaneously formed, driven by the hydrophobic effect, and are effective drag reducers. Giant micelles are interesting in promoting drag reduction because the noncovalent and reversible aggregation of the surfactant molecules avoids mechanical degradation, which typically occurs with classical polymers, due to irreversible scission of the backbone. In this letter, we present the first hydrodynamic drag reducer for hydrocarbons based on a self-assembled polymer formed from the reversible aggregation of bis-urea monomers. This system forms two competitive polymeric structures--the tube (T) and the filament (F) forms--which are in equilibrium with each other. Our rheology results in octane and toluene are fully consistent with calorimetry data and show that only the longest form, T, is able to promote the drag reduction effect.