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Influence of MWCNTs geometry and surface oxidation on rheological and thermal properties of PEG nanofluids

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Abstract

The focus of this research was on the thermal conductivity and rheological properties of poly(ethylene glycol) with a molecular mass of 200 g mol−1 (i.e., PEG200) loaded with four different types of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in a wide concentration range up to 10 mass%. MWCNTs used differ in size (both diameter and length) and the content of COOH (oxidized) functional groups on their surface. It was found that the use of oxidized, shorter and wider MWCNTs in PEG200 results in highest enhancement in thermal conductivity by 133% for 10 mass% MWCNTs-PEG200 nanofluids. Investigation of the shear rate dependence of dynamic viscosity (η) showed that the use of MWCNTs in concentrations greater than 0.1 mass% changes the Newtonian behavior of PEG200 and results in the shear-thinning behavior. This behavior is strongly influenced by the MWCNT concentration in the nanofluid. When comparing the same nanofluid concentration, the highest degree of MWCNT agglomeration in PEG200 nanofluids was observed when long, thin and pristine MWCNTs were used. The thermal conductivity results were correlated with the most commonly used theoretical models: Maxwell, Hamilton-Crosser, Xue, and Murshed. Dynamic viscosity results were correlated with Einstein, Brinkman, and Brenner-Condiff theoretical models. The best agreement with the experimental results was obtained by the Maxwell and Einstein models, indicating the formation of sphere-like MWCNT agglomerates in each PEG200 nanofluid studied.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support by European Union from European Regional Development Fund. This research was conducted within the project NanoFlu—Polymer additives for lubricating oil and nanofluids (KK.01.1.1.07.0015).

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  1. Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, University of Zagreb, Marulićev trg, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Lucija Rebrović, Ante Jukić & Fabio Faraguna

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  1. Lucija Rebrović
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by LR and FF. The first draft of the manuscript was written by LR and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. The conceptualization was done by FF and AJ. The funding was enabled by AJ.

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Correspondence to Fabio Faraguna.

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Rebrović, L., Jukić, A. & Faraguna, F. Influence of MWCNTs geometry and surface oxidation on rheological and thermal properties of PEG nanofluids. J Therm Anal Calorim 148, 1351–1364 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-022-11558-3

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