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Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) were synthesized via a green, one-step hydrothermal method. As CQD precursors, nine amino acids of different structural descriptors (negatively/positively charged in water, polar, hydrophobic, sulfur-containing, and other/complex ones) were surveyed: Asp, Cys, Gly, His, Leu, Lys, Phe, Pro, and Ser. The reactions were performed in an autoclave in the presence of citric acid at 180 °C for 24 h and yielded core-shell CQDs. CQDs were comprehensively characterized by transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, Raman, UV/Vis, infrared, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy. At the excitation wavelength of λ

Investments in the transfer and storage of thermal energy along with renewable energy sources strengthen health and economic infrastructure. These factors intensify energy diversification and the more rapid post-COVID recovery of economies. Ionanofluids (INFs) composed of long multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) rich in sp

Water-based processing of graphene─typically considered as physicochemically incompatible with water in the macroscale─emerges as the key challenge among the central postulates of green nanotechnology. These problematic concerns are derived from the complex nature of graphene in the family of sp2-carbon nanoallotropes. Indeed, nanomaterials hidden under the common “graphene” signboard are very rich in morphological and physicochemical variants. In this work, inspired by the adhesion chemistry of mussel biomaterials, we have synthesized novel, water-processable graphene–polylevodopa (PDOPA) hybrids. Graphene and PDOPA were covalently amalgamated via the “growth-from” polymerization of l-DOPA (l-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine) monomer in air, yielding homogeneously PDOPA-coated (23 wt %) (of thickness 10–20 nm) hydrophilic flakes. The hybrids formed >1 year stable and water-processable aqueous dispersions and further conveniently processable paints of viscosity 0.4 Pa·s at 20 s–1 and a low yield stress τ0 up to 0.12 Pa, hence exhibiting long shelf-life stability and lacking sagging after application. Demonstrating their applicability, we have found them as surfactant-like nanoparticles stabilizing the larger, pristine graphene agglomerates in water in the optimized graphene/graphene–PDOPA weight ratio of 9:1. These characteristics enabled the manufacture of conveniently paintable coatings of low surface resistivity of 1.9 kΩ sq–1 (0.21 Ω·m) which, in turn, emerge as potentially applicable in textronics, radar-absorbing materials, or electromagnetic interference shielding. European Union funding: 952008

The concept of IoNanofluids (INFs) as the stable dispersions of nanoparticles in ionic liquids was proposed in 2009 by Nieto de Castro&rsquo, s group. INFs characterize exciting properties such as improved thermal conductivity, non-volatility, and non-flammability. This work is a continuation of our studies on the morphology and physicochemistry of carbon-based nanomaterials affecting thermal conductivity, viscosity, and density of INFs. We focus on the characterization of dispersions composed of long carboxylic group-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium thiocyanate. The thermal conductivity of INFs was measured using KD2 Pro Thermal Properties Analyzer (Decagon Devices Inc., Pullman, WA, USA). The viscosity was investigated using rotary viscometer LV DV-II+Pro (Brookfield Engineering, Middleboro, MA, USA). The density of INFs was measured using a vibrating tube densimeter Anton Paar DMA 5000 (Graz, Austria). The maximum thermal conductivity enhancement of 22% was observed for INF composed of 1 wt% long carboxylic group-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes.

Transfer of the excellent intrinsic properties of individual carbon nanoparticles into real-life applications of the corresponding heat transfer fluids remains challenging. This process requires identification and quantification of the nanoparticle-liquid interface. Here, for the first time, we have determined geometry and properties of this interface by applying transmission electron cryomicroscopy (cryo-TEM). We have systematically investigated how the particle morphology of carbon-based nanomaterials affected the thermal conductivity, specific isobaric heat capacity, thermal diffusivity, density, and viscosity of ionanofluids and/or bucky gels, using a wide range of fillers, especially single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), both with extreme values of aspect ratio (length to diameter ratio) from 150 to 11 000. Accordingly, hybrid systems composed of various carbon nanomaterials and ionic liquid, namely 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium thiocyanate [EMIM][SCN], were prepared and characterized. Most of the analyzed nanodispersions exhibited long-term stability even without any surfactant. Our study revealed that the thermal conductivity could be remarkably improved to the maximum values of 43.9% and 67.8% for ionanofluid and bucky gel (at 1 wt % loadings of MWCNTs and SWCNTs), respectively, compared to the pristine ionic liquid. As a result, the model proposed by Murshed and co-workers has been improved for realistic description of the concentration-dependent thermal conductivity of such hybrid systems. The obtained results undoubtedly indicate the potential of ionanofluids and bucky gels for energy management.

Graphical abstract, Highlights • Multi-wall CNT bundles in ionic liquids are deagglomerated and cut upon sonication. • Prolonged ultrasonication decreases thermal conductivity of ionanofluids. • Extended ultrasonication time reduces viscosity of ionanofluids., The stability along with thermal and rheological characteristics of ionanofluids (INFs) profoundly depend on the protocol of preparation. Therefore, in this work, the effect of ultrasonication time on microstructure, thermal conductivity, and viscosity of INFs containing 0.2 wt% of originally ultra-long multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and four different ILs, namely 1-propyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium thiocyanate, or 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tricyanomethanide, was studied. The INFs were obtained by a two-step method using an ultrasonic probe. The ultrasonication process was performed for 1, 3, 10, or 30 min at a constant nominal power value of 200 W. The obtained results showed that for the shortest sonication time, the highest thermal conductivity enhancement of 12% was obtained. The extended sonication time from 1 to 30 min caused the cutting of MWCNTs and breaking the nanoparticle clusters, leading to a decrease in the average length of the nanotube bundles by approx. 70%. This resulted in a decline in thermal conductivity even by 7.2% and small deviations from the Newtonian behavior of INFs.

The optimization of energy systems and the efficiency enhancement of energy conversion processesare still huge challenges. The ionanofluids (INFs) composed of the long multi-walled carbon nanotubes(MWCNTs) and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium thiocyanate ionic liquid ([C 2 C 1 im][SCN]) are innovative sys- tems with proven remarkably enhanced thermal conductivity and attractive rheological characteristics.Therefore, as an extension of our previous study, this work aims to examine the overall heat transfer per- formance of these INFs as working fluids for energy conversion processes and design sustainable energysystems. The new measuring set was designed and constructed to determine the convective heat transfercoefficient and pressure drop during the flow of INFs, using the heat exchanger with saturated steam at100 °C. The obtained results showed that the heat transfer of INFs is prevailed by the convection mecha- nism. According to a new thermo-economic efficiency-price index proposed in this work, the amalgama- tion of MWCNTs with [C 2 C 1 im][SCN] is justified from both thermophysical and economic points of view.

The main challenge in the use of multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) as key components of nanofluids is to transfer excellent thermal properties from individual nanotubes into the bulk systems. We present studies on the performance of heat transfer nanofluids based on ultra-long (~2 mm), curly MWCNTs – in the background of various other nanoC-sp2, i.e. oxidized MWCNTs, commercially available Nanocyl™ MWCNTs and spherical carbon nanoparticles (SCNs). The nanofluids prepared via ultrasonication from water and propylene glycol were studied in terms of heat conductivity and heat transfer in a scaled up thermal circuit containing a copper helical heat exchanger. Ultra-long curly MWCNT (1 wt.%) nanofluids (stabilized with Gum Arabic in water) emerged as the most thermally conducting ones with a 23–30%- and 39%-enhancement as compared to the base-fluids for water and propylene glycol, respectively. For turbulent flows (Re = 8000–11,000), the increase of heat transfer coefficient for the over-months stable 1 wt.% ultra-long MWCNT nanofluid was found as high as >100%. The findings allow to confirm that longer MWCNTs are promising solid components in nanofluids and hence to predict their broader application in heat transfer media.

Phase change materials (PCMs) are capable of storage considerably more energy than the conventional systems based on sensible heat. Despite immense and global research, there is a continuous pursuit for high-performance PCMs among which carbon nanocomposites emerge as the most prospective ones. In this paper, by comprehensive analysis of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) of three various morphologies (crystallinity, number of walls, and aspect ratio), we report record-breaking characteristics of CNT-paraffin nanocomposites based on ultra-long (770 μm) in-house multi-wall CNTs (MWCNTs) as fully functional PCMs prepared by a melting technique. By systematic investigations covering scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and analysis of thermophysical properties, we have constructed the most promising MWCNT(0.5% wt.)-paraffin nanocomposite of 37%-enhanced thermal conductivity and 6.3%-higher enthalpy of phase change (∆Hm), in reference to the base paraffin, as well as excellent cycling stability (>50 heating/cooling cycles), and as low supercooling temperature (∆T=Tm–Tc) as 2.4 °C. The superior characteristics derive from rapider nucleation of larger crystallites by MWCNTs proceeding via short- and long-range templating as well as intrinsic characteristics of individual and fibrous ultra-long MWCNTs. Additionally, even a 161%-enhancement in thermal conductivity is available for the long MWCNT-paraffin composite, but at the cost of preserving the remaining thermophysical characteristics of neat paraffin. The results clearly point out the potential of the elaborated PCMs toward thermal energy storage.

The small physical size of electronic equipment, space limitation for installing air-cooling systems and high heat flux produced from a single chip have attracted a great deal of interest in more efficient heat dissipation equipment such as high-performance liquid cooling systems and mini-rectangular fin heat sinks. In this study, the influence of nanofluids on the performance of heat sink for CPU cooling is investigated experimentally and numerically. The former is carried out for water and nanofluid CuO-water at two solid concentrations of 0.86 and 2.25 vol.%. While in the latter, numerical simulations are validated for the laminar flow model with the application of the commercial package ANSYS Fluent 13. For the investigated range of mass flow rate and heat load (115 and 130 W), up to 7.7% of thermal conductance improvement is observed in case of nanofluids in comparison to water. The results of this study pave the way for more credible designs of cooling systems of electronic devices to promote a high-performance and longer life cycle.

This work presents experimental and CFD simulation results of heat transfer for water and CuO-water nanofluid flow systems stabilized by capping agents. The experiments were carried out in a helically coiled tube in the range of turbulent flow regime with Reynolds numbers from 6000 to 21,968, for practical applications importance. Nusselt number enhancement with regard to host liquid was observed, up to 18–35 % for nanofluids under investigation. Numerical calculations were performed using the ANSYS® Fluent® package employing homogenous single-phase model with the assumption of constant wall temperature condition. The k-e Realizable Turbulence and Enhancement Wall Treatment models were applied in all analyzed cases. New type stabilizer CTAC was employed which lead to enhanced heat transfer in coil in obtained nanofluids.

Viability of the continuous-flow synthesis of rhomboidal copper(II) oxide (CuO) micro- and nanonoparticles was demonstrated. It has been shown that ultrasonic mixing of reactants, in the stage of Cu(OH)2 synthesis, followed by microwave irradiation of the resulting suspension, gives very fine particles of CuO at high yield and within minutes. Near optimal parameters for the synthesis of fine particles in the continuous reactor were determined.

The goal of this research was to determine the impact of nonionic surfactants on drag reduction effect in water and metal oxide nanofluid. Two nonionic surfactants (Rokacet O7 and Rokanol K7) and copper(II) oxide water-based nanofluid were examined. Friction factors in a 4 mm diameter pipe for the Reynolds number between 8000 and 50000 were determined. Results showed that addition of nonionic surfactants caused the decrease of friction factor in water and nanofluid. The drag reduction effect was similar in both cases. Presence of nanoparticles in the system has no great influence on drag reduction effect.

The performed experiments showed that continuous microwave-assisted polyol synthesis at about 70 °C is a viable process to give silver nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution in bulk amounts. The increase of silver precursor concentration in reaction system from 0.0097 to 0.0389 M resulted in the formation of fine nanoparticles 5–10 nm in size, in addition to the larger ones 30–100 nm, and that changed the pattern of particle size distribution from monomodal to bimodal. The effect of specific process variables was found to be the same in the continuous process as in batch operation. An aqueous glycerol solution was found suitable for use as both solvent and reducing agent.

It has been shown that pressure drop in the acceleration region can be predicted using the uniform flow model if the proper value of the initial solid velocity is known. The equations for estimation of this value were proposed and the correlations for drag force coefficient and friction factor that give the most accurate results were selected.

This article reports on the International Nanofluid Property Benchmark Exercise, or INPBE, in which the thermal conductivity of identical samples of colloidally stable dispersions of nanoparticles or "nanofluids," was measured by over 30 organizations worldwide, using a variety of experimental approaches, including the transient hot wire method, steady-state methods, and optical methods. The nanofluids tested in the exercise were comprised of aqueous and nonaqueous basefluids, metal and metal oxide particles, near-spherical and elongated particles, at low and high particle concentrations. The data analysis reveals that the data from most organizations lie within a relatively narrow band (�10% or less) about the sample average with only few outliers. The thermal conductivity of the nanofluids was found to increase with particle concentration and aspect ratio, as expected from classical theory. There are (small) systematic differences in the absolute values of the nanofluid thermal conductivity among the various experimental approaches; however, such differences tend to disappear when the data are normalized to the measured thermal conductivity of the basefluid. The effective medium theory developed for dispersed particles by Maxwell in 1881 and recently generalized by Nan [J. Appl. Phys. 81, 6692 (1997)], was found to be in good agreement with the experimental data, suggesting that no anomalous enhancement of thermal conductivity was achieved in the nanofluids tested in this exercise. � 2009 American Institute of Physics.

The impact of suspension heating method on the flocculation process using thermosensitive polymer is reported in this paper. In experiments a model suspension of chalk in RO water (purified by Reverse Osmosis) was destabilized using a copolymer of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) and cationic diallyldimethyl ammonium chloride (DADMAC). The measurements were made using a laboratory setup consisting of a mixing tank with four baffles, Rushton turbine, laser particle sizer Analysette 22 by Fritsch and a system of pump and thermostating devices. Two different modes of heating were used. In the first case the temperature of the system was gently raised above the Lower Critical Solution Temperature (LCST) using an electrical heater placed inside the tank, while in the second case the system temperature was rapidly raised by an injection of hot water directly into the tank. It was proven that heating method as well as the polymer concentration was crucial to the shape and size of created flocs.

Paper presents results of investigations on rheological properties of CuO-water and CuO-ethylene glycol nanoflmds. It was found that mentioned nanofluids exhibit non-Newtonian properties and their flow curves can be approximated by means of Hershel-Bulkley's rheological model. A mutual influence of share stress and temperature on viscosity of nanofluids can be described accurately by means of Klein's equation.

Experimental investigations of convective heat transfer in nanofluid based on the Cu (approx. 0.15% and 0.25% vol.) nanoparticles synthesized in polyol process were conducted at constant heat flux conditions. A 30% increase in average heat transfer coefficient was found against the results obtained for a pure host liquid (ethylene glycol). Even more significant increase was in the entrance region.Copyright © 2008 by ASME

Systematic studies of silver nanoparticle synthesis in a continuous-flow single-mode microwave reactor using polyol process were performed, revealing that the synthesis is exceptionally effective to give very small metal particles at full reaction yield and very high productivity. Inlet concentration of silver nitrate or silver acetate, applied as metal precursors, varied between 10 and 50 mM, and flow rates ranged from 0.635 to 2.5 dm3/h, to give 3–24 s reaction time. Owing to its much higher reactivity, silver acetate was shown to be far superior substrate for the synthesis of small (10–20 nm) spherical silver nanoparticles within a few seconds. Its restricted solubility in ethylene glycol, applied as the solvent and reducing agent, appeared to be vital for effective separation of the stage of particle growth from its nucleation to enable rapid synthesis of small particles in a highly loaded system. This was not possible to obtain using silver nitrate. All the observations could perfectly be explained by a classical LaMer–Dinegar model of NPs’ formation, but taking into account also nonisothermal character of the continuous-flow process and acetate dissolution in the reaction system. The performed studies indicate an optimal strategy for the high-yield fabrication of metal particles using polyol method.

This paper presents results of investigations on the application of CuO-water nanofluids for intensification of convective heat transfer. Performance of nanofluids with 2.2 and 4.0 vol.% CuO NPs (nanoparticles) content were examined with regard to heat transfer coefficient and pressure losses in case of turbulent flow in a tube. Negligible impact of examined nanofluid on heat transfer improvement was found. Moreover, measured pressure losses significantly exceeded those determined for primary base liquid. The observations showed that application of nanofluid for heat transfer intensification with a relatively high solid load in the examined flow range is rather controversial.