Author details

polymers, with an anionic surfactant, and β-CD in brine solutions. The optimum supramolecular systems were subjected to rheological characterization and several stability testing techniques to establish their tolerance to increasing ionic strength concentration, shear degradation, and thermal stability. The most significant findings are outlined as

• The formulated SAP-AP systems show remarkable gain of viscoelastic properties and

• The SAP-AP network structures are less sensitive to electrostatic effects than the corresponding baseline polymers AP1, AP2, and AP3. The increase in salt tolerance may be aided by the steric effect of the β-CD host-guest complexations acting as large rigid groups within the supramolecular network that prevents the collapse and/or coiling of the polymer chain at elevated ionic strength. This functionality is important

• The SAP-AP systems show remarkable shear stability relative to the baseline polymers. If the high-shear forces imposed on the network structures are lifted and as soon as the equilibrium of the shear forces and the flow resistance forces is reached, the SAP-AP systems show high structural regeneration, which is > 95% for the case of the SAP-AP1 system; while the SAP-AP2 and SAP-AP3 systems display a gain of structural strength with regeneration > 100%. The gain in structural strength evidences the self-healing performance of these SAP-AP self-assemblies. The overall trend is that increasing the hydrophobic content of the associating polymers increases the shear stability and the structural strength of the supramolecular formulations.

• The short-term thermal stability testing demonstrates that all SAP-AP systems display higher structural strength in terms of G<sup>0</sup> and G<sup>00</sup> when compared to the corresponding baseline polymers in the entire range of temperature and ionic strength evaluated.

• The long-term thermal stability testing carried out at 90�C for a period of 8 weeks demonstrates that the AP polymers and the optimum SAP-AP systems are not stable at elevated temperatures; therefore, these systems are recommended for low-

The authors would like to extend their appreciation to Grace Hicks and Tayler Hunt from the Chemical Engineering Department, University of New Brunswick, for their technical involvement during the rheological evaluation of the SAP-AP systems. The authors are grateful to Sasol Chemicals and SNF Floerger for providing surfactant and polymer samples. Financial support from the University of New Brunswick through the Sabbatical Research Grant and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) is also acknowledged.

elevated structural strength relative to the associating baseline polymers.

follows:

220 Cyclodextrin - A Versatile Ingredient

for EOR applications.

temperature (≪ 90�C) applications.

Acknowledgements

Laura Romero-Zerón\* and Xingzhi Jiang

\*Address all correspondence to: laurarz@unb.ca

Chemical Engineering Department, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
