Nanofluids Containing Stearic Acid-Modified CuO Nanorods and Their Thermal Conductivity Enhancements

摘要

The stearic acid modified CuO (SA-CuO) nanorods with an average diameter and length of 40-60 nm and 100-200 nm, respectively, were synthesized by a solvothermal method. The modified ligand is effective to improve the lipophilic property of SA-CuO nanorods. After the SA-CuO nanorods were dispersed in heat transfer oils, the nanofluids exhibit much higher thermal conductivity than base oil. The thermal conductivities of nanofluids increase with the increase of weight fraction of nanorods and have been raised to 4.70 times as high as that of base liquid at a weight fraction of 0.8%. The promising features offer potential application in thermal energy engineering.