Positive roles and synergistic mechanism of graphene oxide in improving fracturing fluid performances

There has been growing interest in designing and developing polymeric nanoparticles in recent years. The inclusion of nanoparticles can enhance the performances of polymer solutions, including stability, rheology, and shear resistance. Nano-graphene oxide (Nano-GO) has been considered a superior nanoparticle for this purpose because of its robust thermal and mechanical properties. However, systematic studies on the application of graphene oxide nanoparticles in slickwater fracturing fluid have not been reported. Therefore, this study aims to improve the stability of nanoparticles, enhance the rheological properties of polymer nanofluids, and elucidate the synergy between nanoparticles and fracturing fluids through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. By evaluating rheological properties, drag reduction performances, and sand carrying capacity, this study confirms that the slickwater fracturing fluid added with Nano-GO (referred to as DRGO) meets the industrial requirement, and Nano-GO can significantly improve the rheological properties, apparent viscosity, as well as temperature and salt resistance of slickwater fracturing fluid. In terms of microstructure, the polymer molecules inside DRGO are closely overlapped to form a uniform network structure with greatly enhanced molecular chain strength.