Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) has been widely used to recover residual oil after the primary or secondary oil recovery processes. Compared to conventional methods, chemical EOR has demonstrated high oil recovery and low operational costs. Nanofluids have received extensive attention owing to their advantages of low cost, high oil recovery, and wide applicability. In recent years, nanofluids have been widely used in EOR processes. Moreover, several studies have focused on the role of nanofluids in the nanofluid EOR (N-EOR) process. However, the mechanisms related to N-EOR are unclear, and several of the mechanisms established are chaotic and contradictory. This review was conducted by considering heavy oil molecules/particle/surface micromechanics; nanofluid-assisted EOR methods; multiscale, multiphase pore/core displacement experiments; and multiphase flow fluid-solid coupling simulations. Nanofluids can alter the wettability of minerals (particle/surface micromechanics), oil/water interfacial tension (heavy oil molecules/water micromechanics), and structural disjoining pressure (heavy oil molecules/particle/surface micromechanics). They can also cause viscosity reduction (micromechanics of heavy oil molecules). Nanofoam technology, nanoemulsion technology, and injected fluids were used during the EOR process. The mechanism of N-EOR is based on the nanoparticle adsorption effect. Nanoparticles can be adsorbed on mineral surfaces and alter the wettability of minerals from oil-wet to water-wet conditions. Nanoparticles can also be adsorbed on the oil/water surface, which alters the oil/water interfacial tension, resulting in the formation of emulsions. Asphaltenes are also adsorbed on the surface of nanoparticles, which reduces the asphaltene content in heavy oil, resulting in a decrease in the viscosity of oil, which helps in oil recovery. In previous studies, most researchers only focused on the results, and the nanoparticle adsorption properties have been ignored. This review presents the relationship between the adsorption properties of nanoparticles and the N-EOR mechanisms. The nanofluid behaviour during a multiphase core displacement process is also discussed, and the corresponding simulation is analysed. Finally, potential mechanisms and future directions of N-EOR are proposed. The findings of this study can further the understanding of N-EOR mechanisms from the perspective of heavy oil molecules/particle/surface micromechanics, as well as clarify the role of nanofluids in multiphase core displacement experiments and simulations. This review also presents limitations and bottlenecks, guiding researchers to develop methods to synthesise novel nanoparticles and conduct further research.

Sulfonic acid functionalized mesoporous silica based solid acid catalysts with different morphology were designed and fabricated. The synthesized materials were characterized by various physicochemical and spectroscopic techniques like scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area, thermogravimetric analysis and n-butylamine acidity. The shape of catalysts particles plays an important role in its activity. The sulfonic acid functionalized mesoporous silica catalysts of spherical shape and the cube shape were assessed for catalytic activity in biodiesel production. The catalytic biodiesel production reaction over the catalysts were studied by esterification of free fatty acid, oleic acid with methanol. The effect of various reaction parameters such as catalyst concentration, acid/alcohol molar ratio, catalyst amount, reaction temperature and reaction time on catalytic activity were investigated to optimize the conditions for maximum conversion. It was sulfonated cubic shape mesoporous silica which exhibited better activity as compared to the spherical shape silica catalysts. Additionally, the catalyst was regenerated and reused up to three cycles without any significant loss in activity. The present catalysts exhibit superior performance in biodiesel production and it can be used for the several biodiesel feedstock’s that are rich in free fatty acids.

The one-step highly selective oxidation of cyclohexane into cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol as the essential intermediates of nylon-6 and nylon-66 is considerably challenging. Therefore, an efficient and low-cost catalyst must be urgently developed to improve the efficiency of this process. In this study, a Co₃O₄–CeO₂ composite oxide catalyst was successfully prepared through ultrasound-assisted co-precipitation. This catalyst exhibited a higher selectivity to KA-oil, which was benefited from the synergistic effects between Co³⁺/Co²⁺ and Ce⁴⁺/Ce³⁺ redox pairs, than bulk CeO₂ and/or Co₃O₄. Under the optimum reaction conditions, 89.6% selectivity to KA-oil with a cyclohexane conversion of 5.8% was achieved over Co₃O₄–CeO₂. Its catalytic performance remained unchanged after five runs. Using the synergistic effects between the redox pairs of different transition metals, this study provides a feasible strategy to design high-performance catalysts for the selective oxidation of alkanes.

Ordered SBA-15 mesoporous silica with incorporated titanium was successfully synthesized via a one-pot hydrothermal crystallization method. The characterization including powder X-ray diffraction, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, transmission electron microscope, temperature-programmed reduction, temperature-programmed desorption, Fourier transform infrared and ultraviolet-visible-near infrared spectrometer was performed to explore the physical and chemical structures of both the supports and the catalysts. The results showed that titanium was successfully incorporated into the mesoporous silica framework with a limited amount of titanium (Si/Ti > 20), and the mesoporous structure was retained. However, the increased titanium content inevitably resulted in the formation of anatase TiO ₂ particles on the support surface. The increased incorporated titanium strengthened the interactions between cobalt species and supports, which was favorable for the cobalt species dispersion, despite the limited cobalt oxide reducibility. The enhanced metal-support interactions were beneficial for the CO/H₂ ratio at the active cobalt sites, which facilitated the formation of more C₅₊ hydrocarbons. This study provides a promising method for support modification with incorporated-heteroatoms for the rational development of Fischer–Tropsch catalysts.

A Ag particle-coated and 1-dodecanethiol-modified melamine sponge (Ag-DDT-MS) was prepared through surface roughness by coating silver particles and subsequent grafting of a hydrophobic long hydrocarbon chain. Superhydrophobic and 3D porous Ag-DDT-MS was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The water contact angle of Ag-DDT-MS reached 159.2°. Ag-DDT-MS exhibited excellent absorption capacity for high viscous oils and organic solvents, ranging from 42.8 to 105.2 g∙g⁻¹. The absorbed oils can be easily collected by the mechanical pressing process, and the oil recovery rate was satisfactory, more than 90% after 20 recycles. Ag-DDT-MS material also demonstrated good stability and excellent compression-recovery ability, keeping 88.6% of the initial height after ten compression-release cycles.

In this study, a durable superhydrophobic/superoleophilic melamine foam was fabricated by a facile and rapid one-step thiol-ene click chemistry and Michael addition reaction, which demonstrated excellent robustness in oil/water separation. First, 1H, 1H, 2H-perfluoro-1-hexene reacted with thiol-functionalized polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane via the thiol-ene click chemistry to obtain a fluorinated thiol-functionalized polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane solution. Subsequently, the melamine foam was immersed to the solution system to form nanoaggregates on the melamine foam surface by the Michael addition reaction in the presence of ultraviolet light. The micro/nano rough structure and low surface energy of the nanoaggregates layer endowed the pristine melamine foam with superhydrophobicity; the water contact angle was greater than 150°. More importantly, the as-prepared melamine foam could withstand harsh conditions, such as a corrosive solution environment, strong ultraviolet light, mechanical compression, high and low temperature exposure, and ultrasonic washing. Driven by gravity, the as-prepared melamine foam could efficiently separate the oil/water mixtures and maintain 98% separation efficiency at high and low temperatures. In addition, it maintained the desirable absorption capability in different oil/organic solvents even after 15 absorption cycles. Accordingly, this facile, low-cost, and robust one-step method provides important support for the superhydrophobic oil/water separation field.

NiCoP₄O₁₂/NiCoP nanorod-like arrays with tunable grain boundary density and pores were synthesized by the processes composed of hydrothermal and pyrolysis, in which, the electron structure of Ni and Co atoms characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was contemporaneous inverse manipulated. The optimized NiCoP₄O₁₂/NiCoP arrays have a high specific capacitance of 507.8 μAh∙cm^–2 at 1 mA∙cm^–2, and good rate ability of 64.7% retention at 30-folds increased current density. Importantly, an ultra-stable ability, 88.5% of retention after 10000 cycles, was achieved in an asymmetric cell assembled of the NiCoP₄O₁₂/NiCoP arrays with activated carbon. In addition, the energy and power densities of an asymmetric cell were higher than those of other work, demonstrating as-prepared NiCoP₄O₁₂/NiCoP arrays are promising electrodes for supercapacitors.

The micro-nano composite structure can endow separation membranes with special surface properties, but it often has the problems of inefficient preparation process and poor structural stability. In this work, a novel atomization-assisted nonsolvent induced phase separation method, which is also highly efficient and very simple, has been developed. By using this method, a bicontinuous porous microfiltration membrane with robust micro-nano composite structure was obtained via commercially available polymers of polyacrylonitrile and polyvinylpyrrolidone. The formation mechanism of the micro-nano composite structure was proposed. The microphase separation of polyacrylonitrile and polyvinylpyrrolidone components during the atomization pretreatment process and the hydrogen bonding between polyacrylonitrile and polyvinylpyrrolidone molecules should have resulted in the nano-protrusions on the membrane skeleton. The membrane exhibits superhydrophilicity in air and superoleophobicity underwater. The membrane can separate both surfactant-free and surfactant-stabilized oil-in-water emulsions with high separation efficiency and permeation flux. With excellent antifouling property and robust microstructure, the membrane can easily be recycled for long-term separation. Furthermore, the scale-up verification from laboratory preparation to continuous production has been achieved. The simple, efficient, cost-effective preparation method and excellent membrane properties indicate the great potential of the developed membranes in practical applications.

Escherichia coli is one of the most important microbial cell factories, but infection by bacteriophages in the environment may have a huge impact on its application in industrial production. Here, we developed a mobile CRISPR-Cas9 based anti-phage system for bacteriophages defense in E. coli. Two conjugative plasmids pGM1 (phosphoglucomutase 1) and pGM2 carrying one and two guide RNAs, respectively, were designed to defend against a filamentous phage. The results showed that the pGM1 and pGM2 could decrease the phage infection rate to 1.6% and 0.2% respectively in infected cells. For preventing phage infection in E. coli, the pGM2 decreased the phage infection rate to 0.1%, while pGM1 failed to block phage infection. Sequence verification revealed that point mutations in protospacer or protospacer adjacent motif sequences of the phage genome caused loss of the defense function. These results support the potential application of MCBAS in E. coli cell factories to defend against phage infections.