{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,4]],"date-time":"2026-06-04T18:12:24Z","timestamp":1780596744724,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,30]],"date-time":"2026-05-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1780099200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"The Ministry of Science and Technology of Sinopec Project","award":["P22117"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["P22117"]}]},{"name":"The Ministry of Science and Technology of Sinopec Project","award":["P22017"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["P22017"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Gels"],"abstract":"<jats:p>A critical challenge in coalbed methane (CBM) extraction is the severe formation damage induced by conventional foam fracturing fluids, primarily through polymer retention and hydrogen bond disruption within the microporous matrix. This study presents a molecularly engineered, low-damage foam fracturing fluid that leverages synergistic nanoparticle\u2013surfactant interactions to construct a robust interfacial pseudo-gel network, thereby decoupling effective fracture stimulation from adverse geochemical damage. The primary novelties of this work are threefold: (i) establishing a direct, quantitative cause-and-effect relationship between molecular interfacial architecture and reservoir protection, (ii) proposing a comprehensive \u201cinterfacial control\u201d design paradigm that engineers viscoelasticity at the gas\u2013liquid interface rather than through bulk polymer gelation, and (iii) demonstrating the complete decoupling of foam stability from formation damage in a polymer-free system. A systematic optimization methodology was employed: initial foaming agents were screened via the Waring Blender method, evaluating foam volume, half-life, and a derived comprehensive index; subsequently, synergistic binary surfactant mixtures and foam stabilizers were assessed to formulate the final systems. An optimized formulation, designated Foam System I (0.5 wt.% fluorosurfactant FK + 0.5 wt.% nano-silica RX + 2.0 wt.% KCl), demonstrated exceptional foam quality (\u0393 = 77.1 \u00b1 1.5%) and kinetic stability (T1\/2 &gt; 350 s). Rheological characterization confirmed shear-thinning behavior conforming to the Herschel\u2013Bulkley model (n = 0.38\u20130.42, R2 &gt; 0.98) and a structural recovery of 92.5 \u00b1 2.1%\u2014comparable to crosslinked polymer gels but achieved without any bulk viscosifier. Core flood analyses revealed that Foam System I induced a permeability damage of only 12.75 \u00b1 1.8%, representing a 55\u201375% reduction compared to polyethylene glycol (PEG)-stabilized reference fluids (28.36\u201351.91%). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) correlated this enhanced reservoir compatibility with an 18.0 \u00b1 2.0% suppression of oxygen-containing functional group adsorption, attributed to the steric hindrance conferred by the fluorinated hydrophobic moieties. This work establishes an \u201cinterfacial control\u201d paradigm wherein gel-like stabilization for proppant transport is achieved via interfacial viscoelasticity rather than bulk polymer gelation, thereby directly addressing the critical imperative to harmonize fracture conductivity with reservoir protection in unconventional energy development. The findings are validated for shallow CBM reservoir conditions (25\u201335 \u00b0C), with extension to higher-temperature formations identified as a priority for future investigation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/gels12060481","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,2]],"date-time":"2026-06-02T11:25:31Z","timestamp":1780399531000},"page":"481","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Decoupling Foam Stability from Formation Damage: Interfacial Pseudo-Gelation via Nanoparticle\u2013Fluorosurfactant Synergy for Unconventional Reservoirs"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Hongjian","family":"Wu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Petroleum Engineering, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China"},{"name":"Hubei Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Drilling and Production Engineering, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China"},{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Low Carbon Catalysis and Carbon Dioxide Utilization, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiangwei","family":"Kong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Petroleum Engineering, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China"},{"name":"Hubei Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Drilling and Production Engineering, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China"},{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Low Carbon Catalysis and Carbon Dioxide Utilization, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100545","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ref.2024.100545","article-title":"The renewable energy role in the global energy Transformations","volume":"48","author":"Hassan","year":"2024","journal-title":"Renew. 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