Aqueous Nanofluids Based on Copper MPA: Synthesis and Characterization

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%.