Effect of Lateral Size of Graphene Oxide (GO) on bubble dynamics

Understanding and controlling bubble stability is essential in applications like enhanced oil recovery, water treatment, and drug delivery. Bubbles are typically thermodynamically unstable, but nanotechnology has shown promise in stabilizing them. Previous studies have shown that nanoparticle properties—such as wettability, concentration, and surface charge—can significantly influence stability, yet the role of particle size remains unclear. This study examines how the lateral size of graphene oxide (GO), a 2D nanoparticle with oxygen-containing functional groups, affects the stability of air bubbles in a sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solution. Foam was generated using a high-speed homogenizer and transferred into 100 mL glass cylinders. Foam height was recorded every 10 minutes to quantify bubble stability through decay rate. Results reveal that larger GO particles accelerate bubble collapse, more so than in the control without GO. Conversely, smaller GO particles enhance stability, likely due to their aggregation behavior. These findings highlight the importance of lateral particle size in nanoparticle-stabilized foams and its potential implications for design in bubble-reliant systems.