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Thermal stability of gel foams co-stabilized by nano-aluminum hydroxide and surfactants

  • Original Paper: Nano-structured materials (particles, fibers, colloids, composites, etc.)
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Abstract

Foam stabilized by nanoparticles and surfactants demonstrates potential in developing environmentally friendly foam extinguishing agent for liquid fuel fire. However, many properties on foams must be investigated first before application. The present study focuses on thermal stability of gel foams co-stabilized by nanoparticles and surfactants. Nano-aluminum hydroxide (nano-ATH), short-chain fluorocarbon surfactant (FS-50), and hydrocarbon surfactant (APG-0810) were selected to prepare foam dispersions. Surface activity, viscosity, conductivity, and foamability were characterized. Foam coarsening, drainage, and decay process under high temperature were systematically analyzed. Results indicate that the surface activity and conductivity of nano-ATH/FS-50/APG-0810 dispersions decrease gradually, but the viscosity increases with increasing nano-ATH concentration. The foamability of the dispersions decreases with addition of nano-ATHs and slightly increases with increasing nano-ATH concentration. The viscosity of foam dispersions increases sharply, foamability shows an apparently increase, and foam flowability decreases upon nano-ATH concentration is above 5%. Foam coarsening, drainage, and height decay decrease with increasing nano-ATH concentration. Foam thermal stability under 200°C is enhanced with increasing nano-ATH concentration. These findings can provide a reliable theoretical basis for the application of nano-ATH in developing fire extinguishing agents for liquid fuel fires.

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Highlights

  • Foamability of FS-50/APG-0810 solution was enhanced by nano-ATH with a high content.

  • Foam drainage and coarsening under heat was decelerated by addition of nano-ATH.

  • Foam thermal stability of FS-50/APG-0810 was enhanced as nano-ATH content increases.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51904230), Natural Science Basic Research Program of Shaanxi (No. 2020JQ-755), and Youth Innovation Team Project of Education Department of Shaanxi Province (No. 21JP074).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Safety Science and Engineering, Xi’an University of Science and Technology, Xi’an, 710054, China

    Youjie Sheng, Canbin Yan, Yang Li, Li Ma & Yunchuan Peng

  2. College of Safety Science and Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, China

    Ying Guo

  3. Yanzhou Coal Mining Co., Ltd., Zoucheng, 237500, China

    Ying Guo

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  1. Youjie Sheng
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Contributions

YS: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Resources, Writing-review & editing, Visualization, Funding acquisition. CY: Investigation, Validation, Formal analysis, Writing-original draft, Data curation. YL: Investigation, Methodology. YP: Investigation, Methodology. LM and YG: Supervision.

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Correspondence to Youjie Sheng or Li Ma.

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Sheng, Y., Yan, C., Li, Y. et al. Thermal stability of gel foams co-stabilized by nano-aluminum hydroxide and surfactants. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 105, 127–138 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-022-05971-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-022-05971-1

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