Influence of polymer washing on thermal conductivity enhancement of Cu nanofluids. Issue 5 (2nd May 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chandan, Mohammed R.; Shaik, Aabid Hussain; Kumar, Hemanth; Rahaman, Ariful; Bal, Dharmendra K.; Ponnusami, Babu A; Imran, Mohd
• Is Part Of: Asia-Pacific journal of chemical engineering. Volume 15:Issue 5(2020)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2020-05-02
• Subjects: Cu nanofluids -- Cu nanoparticles -- stability -- thermal conductivity -- washing and redispersion; Chemical engineering -- Periodicals; 660
• DOI: 10.1002/apj.2501
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1932-2135

Abstract

Abstract: This work aims at enhancing the thermal conductivity of base fluids (water and methanol) through successive washing of polymers from the surface of polyvinylpyrollidone (PVP)‐stabilized copper (Cu) nanoparticles. Cu nanofluids were successfully synthesized and characterized using transmission electron microscope and UV–vis spectrophotometer. Thermal conductivity of freshly prepared Cu nanofluid shows ~10% enhancements. The poor enhancement in thermal conductivity is due to the presence of thick polymer coating on the surface of nanoparticles. A new technique has been developed to erode the polymers from the nanoparticle surface by repeated washing and redispersion. After one‐time washing and redispersion, the thermal conductivity of nanofluid has been increased to 0.732 W/mK (~22% enhancements). Greater enhancement (~30.34%) has been achieved after three times continuous washing and redispersion. Finally, the experimental values of thermal conductivity were compared and validated against the existing Maxwell effective model.