Pluronic F127 stabilized ZnO nanofluid; Investigation of the dispersion stability and thermal conductivity

Nanofluids are suspensions consisting of solid nanoparticles in sizes less than 100 nm and can be used in many research fields. The current research work concentrated on two sections. (1) This part mainly studies the preparation and characterization and colloidal stability of surface modified ZnO nanoparticles disbanded water (ZnO/water) nanofluid (2) estimating thermal conductivity, which was essential for many industrial applications. To study the stability of the F127 stabilized ZnO nanofluid, DLS and zeta potential analysis were used. The polydispersity index, as determined by DLS analysis, is 0.322, and the number-averaged particle size is 110 nm. To achieve this, the dispersant was used for homogeneous solution and the zeta potential value for stabilized ZnO nanofluids in the presence of dispersant was 10.18 mV. The effect of dispersant and temperature on the thermal conductivity of nanofluids was examined. Based on the obtained results, a significant increase in fluid conductivity was observed that had a nonlinear relationship with the volume fraction and an optimized dispersant concentration at 1.5 vol% showed the maximum enhancement of thermal conductivity. The influence of temperature on the thermal conductivity of ZnO stabilized nanofluids was analyzed and compared with ZnO nanofluids.