One of Dr. Steven Higgins' Reseach Areas
Hydrothermal Atomic Force Microscope
The Hydrothermal Atomic Force Microscope operates by controlling the forces between a sharp probe and a solid surface of interest while raster scanning the probe over the solid. In this way, the microscope can resolve features at the atomic scale and, in the case of the AFM used at WSU, is capable of operating in fluids at high temperatures and pressures. These capabilities allow for the study of reactions at solid-liquid interfaces (such as crystal growth and dissolution, adsorption and desorption as well as oxidation and reduction) in real time with near atomic-scale resolution and at conditions that are relevant to numerous industries and fields of study, which include reactions in subsurface geologic formations such as those taking place during enhanced oil recovery and hydraulic fracturing, and in high temperature, corrosive environments used in industrial processing. Shell, a world leader in the petroleum industry, contacted Dr. Higgins in 2013 about studying the adhesive forces between oil and various minerals under conditions important to their oil extraction operations (high temperature and pressure). They assembled a team including Prof. Hannes Schniepp’s research group from the College of William and Mary and Dr. Higgins' group from WSU to develop both the necessary probes and one-of-a-kind microscope technology to carry out these types of investigations. While the project has formally come to an end, Dr. Higgins continues to collaborate with Prof. Schniepp with the goal of publishing the results of their studies on the adhesive properties of oil on mineral surfaces at temperatures up to 100 degrees celcius and pressures up to 100 atmospheres.
