Aqueous Nanofluids Based on Copper MPA: Synthesis and Characterization

Abstract

The application and use of efficient cooling fluids have become increasingly important due to the increasing industrial and energy demand associated with the miniaturization of various electronic devices. The search for high-efficiency heat exchanger fluids in the early 1990s led to the development of a new class of refrigerants called nanofluids. The use of nanofluids is linked to obtaining stable colloidal dispersions which exhibit high thermal conductivity. For this purpose, the efficiency of a nanofluid will depend on the type of fluid used and the dispersed nanomaterial. In this work, a stable aqueous nanofluid based on mercaptopropionic acid-coated copper sulfide nanoparticles (Cu2S/MPA), synthesized by the chemical reduction method, was developed. The nanofluid presented colloidal stability in alkaline medium and an average increase of 36% in thermal conductivity for a volumetric fraction of 0.05%.