Insight into thermo-mechanical enhancement of polymer nanocomposites coated microsand proppants for hydraulic fracturing.

The present work reports the fabrication of ultra-high strength microsand proppants (100 mesh) through a polymer nanocomposite dual coating approach and gives insight into their thermo-mechanical reinforcements. The dual coating can be of 3D-cross-linked poly(styrene-methyl methacrylate)/divinylbenzene) (PS-PMMA/DVB) porous network and thermally cross-linked epoxy with graphene nanosheets. The inner layer of PS-PMMA/DVB was prepared using bulk polymerization of styrene (S) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) at 70 °C with a free radical initiator azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN).