Long-Term High-Temperature Stability of Functionalized Graphene Oxide Nanoplatelets in Arab-D and API Brine

Partially reduced graphene oxide (prGO) was covalently functionalized with a zwitterionic polymer polyzwitterionic polymer to afford a composite material with excellent dispersibility and long-term stability in high salinity brines including standard API and Arab-D found in deep oil reservoirs. When heated at 90 °C, the dispersions remained stable in excess of 140 days. These results suggest the utility of imidazolium-based polymers for brine stabilization as well as the use of diazonium containing polymers for a "grafting-to" approach to nanocarbon functionalization.