Stabilization of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoclusters in concentrated brine with cross-linked polymer shells

Iron oxide nanoparticles, in the form of sub-100-nm clusters, were synthesized in the presence of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) or poly(styrene sulfonate-alt-maleic acid) (PSS-alt-MA) to provide electrosteric stabilization. The superparamagnetic nanoclusters were characterized using a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and zeta potential measurements. To anchor the polymer shell on the nanoparticle surface, the polymer was cross-linked for a range of cross-linking densities. For nanoclusters with only 12% (w/w) PSS-alt-MA, electrosteric stabilization was sufficient even in 8 wt % NaCl. For PAA, the cross-linked polymer shell was essentially permanent and did not desorb even upon dilution of the nanoparticles for iron oxide concentrations down to 0.014 wt %. Without cross-linking, over half of the polymer desorbed from the particle surfaces. This general approach of the adsorption of polymer stabilizers onto nanoparticles followed by cross-linking may be utilized for a wide variety of cross-linkable polymers without the need to form covalent bonds between the nanoparticles and polymer stabilizer. Thus, this cross-linking approach is an efficient and inexpensive method of stabilizing nanoparticles for large-scale applications, including the electromagnetic imaging of subsurface reservoirs, even at high salinity.