A Comprehensive Experimental Investigation of Additives to Enhance Pool Boiling Heat Transfer of a Non-Azeotropic Mixture

Adding nanoparticles or surfactants to pure working fluid is a common and effective method to improve the heat transfer performance of pool boiling. The objective of this research is to determine whether additives have the same efficient impact on heat transfer enhancement of the non-azeotropic mixture. In this paper, Ethylene Glycol/Deionized Water (EG/DW) was selected as the representing non-azeotropic mixture, and a comparative experiment was carried out between it and the pure working fluid. In addition, the effects of different concentrations of additives on the pool boiling heat transfer performance under different heat fluxes were experimentally studied, including TiO₂ nanoparticles with different particle diameters, different kinds of surfactants, and mixtures of nanofluids and surfactants. The experimental results showed that the nanoparticles deteriorated the heat transfer of the EG/DW solution, while the surfactant enhanced the heat transfer of the solution when the concentration closed to a critical mass fraction (CMC). However, the improvement effect was unsteady with the increase in the heat flux density. The experimental results suggest that the mass transfer resistance of the non-azeotropic mixture is the most important factor in affecting heat transfer enhancement. Solutions with 20 nm TiO₂ obtained a steady optimum heat transfer improvement by adding surfactants.     

Application of SAXS to the study of particle-size-dependent thermal conductivity in silica nanofluids

Knowledge of the size and distribution of nanoparticles in solution is critical to understanding the observed enhancements in thermal conductivity and heat transfer of nanofluids. We have applied small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) to the characterization of SiO₂ nanoparticles (10–30 nm) uniformly dispersed in a water-based fluid using the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory. Size distributions for the suspended nanoparticles were derived by fitting experimental data to an established model. Thermal conductivity of the SiO₂ nanofluids was also measured, and the relation between the average particle size and the thermal conductivity enhancement was established. The experimental data contradict models based on fluid interfacial layers or Brownian motion but support the concept of thermal resistance at the liquid–particle interface.     

Effect of silver nanoparticles with different shapes on luminescence of samarium complex at two different excitation wavelengths

The luminescence properties of Sm(TTFA)₃ complex in presence of the silver (Ag) nanoparticles with size ranged from 80 nm to 120 nm and different shapes (nanorod, cube, tetrahedron, and nanowire) were investigated at two different excitation wavelengths of 397 nm and 350 nm, which was resonant and off-resonant excitation, respectively. The luminescence enhancement for the resonant excitation was much greater than that for the off-resonant excitation. The electric and magnetic dipole transitions were affected by the Ag nanoparticles and the results showed that their emission enhancement depended on the balance of the overlap between the emission wavelengths and the localized surface plasmon resonant of nanoparticles and their sensibility to the variation of local environments. The enhancement and quenching of the luminescence were both observed at the resonant excitation.     

Formation of superconductivity through interparticle interactions in ferrimagnetic-like Sn nanoparticle assemblies

We report on the observation of the development of superconductivity through interparticle interactions in 3, 5, 7, and 23 nm ferrimagnetic-like Sn nanoparticle assemblies. The Sn nanoparticles are fabricated using the gas condensation method. Each sample consists of a macroscopic amount of individual Sn nanoparticles without a capping molecule. Ferrimagnetism is found but no sign of superconductivity can be detected when the 3 nm particles are very loosely assembled. A reduction in the mean particle moment results when the packing fraction of the assembly is increased. Superconductivity occurs when a critical packing fraction is reached. Beyond this, the superconducting transition temperature T _C continues to increase and noticeably exceeds that of the bulk T _C. The enhancement of superconductivity by interparticle interactions has also been observed in 5, 7, and 23 nm particle assemblies, with the effect becoming less significant in larger particles. We attribute these observations to the transfer of electrons between the surface and the core regions of the nanoparticles triggered by finite size effects and interparticle interactions.     

Surface plasmon resonance in nano-gold antimony glass–ceramic dichroic nanocomposites: One-step synthesis and enhanced fluorescence application

A single-step melt-quench in situ thermochemical reduction technique has been used to synthesize a new series of Au° nanoparticles embedded antimony glass–ceramic (K₂O–B₂O₃–Sb₂O₃–ZnO) dichroic nanocomposites. X-ray and selected area electron diffractions manifest growth of Au° nanoparticles along (2 0 0) planes. The particle sizes obtained from X-ray diffraction patterns are found to vary in the range 4–21 nm. Dichroic behavior is attributed to the elliptical shape gold nanoparticles having aspect ratio 1.2, as observed from the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images. The Au° nanoparticles exhibit surface plasmon resonance band (SPR) around 600 nm, which experiences red-shifts with increasing Au concentration. These nanocomposites when co-doped with Sm₂O₃ and excited at 949 nm, exhibit 2-fold intensification of 636 nm red emission transition (⁴G_5/2 → ⁶H_9/2) due to SPR induced local field enhancement of Au° nanoparticles and are promising materials for display applications.     

Rapid extra-/intracellular biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles by the fungus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Penicillium</Emphasis> sp.

In this work, the fungus Penicillium was used for rapid extra-/intracellular biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles. AuCl₄ ⁻ ions reacted with the cell filtrate of Penicillium sp. resulting in extracellular biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles within 1 min. Intracellular biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles was obtained by incubating AuCl₄ ⁻ solution with fungal biomass for 8 h. The gold nanoparticles were characterized by means of visual observation, UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The extracellular nanoparticles exhibited maximum absorbance at 545 nm in UV–Vis spectroscopy. The XRD spectrum showed Bragg reflections corresponding to the gold nanocrystals. TEM exhibited the formed spherical gold nanoparticles in the size range from 30 to 50 nm with an average size of 45 nm. SEM and TEM revealed that the intracellular gold nanoparticles were well dispersed on the cell wall and within the cell, and they are mostly spherical in shape with an average diameter of 50 nm. The presence of gold was confirmed by EDX analysis.     

Resonance Scattering Spectral Detection of Catalase Activity Using Au@Ag Nanoparticle as Probe and Coupling Catalase Catalytic Reaction with Fenton Reaction

The Au_coreAg_shell (Au@Ag) nanoparticles in size of 30 nm were prepared using 10 nm gold nanoparticles as seeds at 90°C, and were purified by high-speed centrifugation to remove the excess trisodium citrate to obtain Au@Ag nanoprobe. In the medium of pH 4.0 acetate buffer solution—7.2 μmol/L H₂O₂–67 μmol/L Fe(II), Au@Ag nanoparticles exhibited a resonance scattering (RS) peak at 538 nm. Upon addition of Catalase (Ct), the system produced hydroxyl radical that oxidized the Au@Ag nanoprobe to form the AuAg nanoparticles with partly bare nanogold. Those AuAg nanoparticles aggregated to large nanoclusters that led to the RS peak wavelength red-shift and its RS peak intensity enhanced. The catalase activity (C) is linear to the enhanced RS intensity (ΔI) in the range of 6 to 2,800 U/L, with regression equation of ΔI = 0.168 C-0.2, the correlation coefficient of 0.9952, and detection limit of 2.8 U/L. This method was applied to the detection of serum samples, and the results were agreement with that of the spectrophotometry. A new catalytic mechanism of catalase was proposed with oxywater principle that was agreement with the results of resonance scattering spectroscopy, absorption spectrophotometry, transmission electron microscopy and laser scattering.     

Photoluminescence and radioluminescence study of NaMgF3:Eu nanoparticles

Photoluminescence (PL) and radioluminescence (RL) measurements were made on small (∼25 nm) NaMgF₃ nanoparticles doped with Eu concentrations ranging from 0.1% to 5%. We find that they contained Eu³⁺, Eu²⁺, and an additional unidentified defect with a broad PL emission ∼470 nm. Similar to previous measurements on larger (57 nm–77 nm) NaMgF₃:Eu nanoparticles with 1% Eu and 5% Eu, we find that the PL lifetime decreases with increasing Eu concentration that can be attributed to Eu energy transfer to non-radiative recombination sites. However, there is no change in the fraction of Eu³⁺ distorted sites. The ∼470 nm PL defect peak was also reported for larger nanoparticles, which suggests that this peak arises from similar unidentified point defects. However, the activated non-radiative decay for the small nanoparticles has a significantly lower activation energy. The Eu³⁺ RL decreases by only 2.3% at 10 kGy for low Eu concentrations.     

Stagnation-point flow past a shrinking sheet in a nanofluid

In this paper, the stagnation-point flow and heat transfer towards a shrinking sheet in a nanofluid is considered. The nonlinear system of coupled partial differential equations was transformed and reduced to a nonlinear system of coupled ordinary differential equations, which was solved numerically using the shooting method. Numerical results were obtained for the skin friction coefficient, the local Nusselt number as well as the velocity and temperature profiles for some values of the governing parameters, namely the nanoparticle volume fraction φ, the shrinking parameter λand the Prandtl number Pr. Three different types of nanoparticles are considered, namely Cu, Al₂O₃ and TiO₂. It was found that nanoparticles of low thermal conductivity, TiO₂, have better enhancement on heat transfer compared to nanoparticles Al₂O₃ and Cu. For a particular nanoparticle, increasing the volume fraction φ results in an increase of the skin friction coefficient and the heat transfer rate at the surface. It is also found that solutions do not exist for larger shrinking rates and dual solutions exist when λ < −1.0.     

Doping effect of Ag nanoparticles on critical current of YBa2Cu3O7−δ bulk superconductor

The objective of this work is to investigate the effect of Ag nanoparticles on critical current of YBa₂Cu₃O_7?δ (YBCO) superconductor. Ag nanoparticles with different particle sizes from 30 to 1000 nm were prepared through the chemical reduction of AgNO₃ in an alcohol solution. Then, samples of YBCO superconductors were doped by 1 and 2 wt.% of Ag nanoparticles with different sizes. Samples were characterized with XRD, SEM and EDX measurements. Critical current measurements were performed using a standard four-probe technique at liquid nitrogen temperature. The results showed by increasing of Ag nanoparticles up to 700 nm the J_c increases, but decreases by further increase in Ag particles size. The critical current enhancement is attributed to the improved connectivity between the grain boundaries and better crystallization of the grains.     

Utilization of surface plasmon resonance of Au/Pt nanoparticles for highly photosensitive ZnO nanorods network based plasmon field effect transistor

Hydrothermally processed highly photosensitive ZnO nanorods based plasmon field effect transistors (PFETs) have been demonstrated utilizing the surface plasmon resonance coupling of Au and Pt nanoparticles at Au/Pt and ZnO interface. A significantly enhanced photocurrent was observed due to the plasmonic effect of the metal nanoparticles (NPs). The Pt coated PFETs showed I_on/I_off ratio more than 3 × 10⁴ under the dark condition, with field-effect mobility of 26 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ and threshold voltage of −2.7 V. Moreover, under the illumination of UV light (λ = 350 nm) the PFET revealed photocurrent gain of 10⁵ under off-state (−5 V) of operation. Additionally, the electrical performance of PFETs was investigated in detail on the basis of charge transfer at metal/ZnO interface. The ZnO nanorods growth temperature was preserved at 110 °C which allowed a low temperature, economical and simple method to develop highly photosensitive ZnO nanorods network based PFETs for large scale production.     

Intriguingly high convective heat transfer enhancement of nanofluid coolants in laminar flows

We reported on investigation of the convective heat transfer enhancement of nanofluids as coolants in laminar flows inside a circular copper tube with constant wall temperature. Nanofluids containing Al₂O₃, ZnO, TiO₂, and MgO nanoparticles were prepared with a mixture of 55 vol.% distilled water and 45 vol.% ethylene glycol as base fluid. It was found that the heat transfer behaviors of the nanofluids were highly depended on the volume fraction, average size, species of the suspended nanoparticles and the flow conditions. MgO, Al₂O₃, and ZnO nanofluids exhibited superior enhancements of heat transfer coefficient, with the highest enhancement up to 252% at a Reynolds number of 1000 for MgO nanofluid. Our results demonstrated that these oxide nanofluids might be promising alternatives for conventional coolants.     

Gold decorated NaYF<Subscript>4</Subscript>:Yb,Er/NaYF<Subscript>4</Subscript>/silica (core/shell/shell) upconversion nanoparticles for photothermal destruction of BE(2)-C neuroblastoma cells

Gold decorated NaYF₄:Yb,Er/NaYF₄/silica (core/shell/shell) upconversion (UC) nanoparticles (~70–80 nm) were synthesized using tetraethyl orthosilicate and chloroauric acid in a one-step reverse microemulsion method. Gold nanoparticles (~6 nm) were deposited on the surface of silica shell of these core/shell/shell nanoparticles. The total upconversion emission intensity (green, red, and blue) of the core/shell/shell nanoparticles decreased by ~31% after Au was deposited on the surface of silica shell. The upconverted green light was coupled with the surface plasmon of Au leading to rapid heat conversion. These UC/silica/Au nanoparticles were very efficient to destroy BE(2)-C cancer cells and showed strong potential in photothermal therapy.     

The application of ultrasound radiation to the synthesis of nanocrystalline metal oxide in a non-aqueous solvent

Highly crystalline metal oxide nanoparticles of TiO₂, WO₃, and V₂O₅ were synthesized in just a few minutes by reacting transition metal chloride with benzyl alcohol using ultrasonic irradiation under argon atmosphere in a non-aqueous solvent. The sonochemical process was conducted at a relatively low temperature, 363 K. A unique crystallization process of these nanoparticles has been observed and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM), and BET. The particles’ size and shape measured from HRSEM reveal “quasi” zero-dimensional, spherical TiO₂ particles in the range of 3–7 nm. The V₂O₅ particles have a “quasi” one-dimensional ellipsoidal morphology, with lengths in the range of 150–200 nm and widths varying between 40 and 60 nm. The WO₃ particles were obtained as “quasi” two-dimensional platelets with square shapes having facets ranging from 30 to 50 nm. The thickness of these platelets was between 2 and 7 nm. The mechanism of the reactions leading to these three metal oxide nanoparticles in a non-aqueous system is substantiated by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), and Electron Spin Resonance (ESR).     

Effect of Brownian motion on flow and heat transfer of nanofluids over a backward-facing step with and without adiabatic square cylinder

A mathematical model to predict large enhancement of thermal conductivity of nanofluids by considering the Brownian motion is proposed. The effect of the Brownian motion on the flow and heat transfer characteristics is examined. The computations were done for various types of nanoparticles such as CuO, Al₂O₃, and ZnO dispersed in a base fluid (water), volume fraction of nanoparticles ? in the range of 1 % to 6 % at a fixed Reynolds number Re = 450 and nanoparticle diameter d_np = 30 nm. Our results demonstrate that Brownian motion could be an important factor that enhances the thermal conductivity of nanofluids. Nanofluid of Al₂O₃ is observed to have the highest Nusselt number Nu among other nanofluids types, while nanofluid of ZnO nanoparticles has the lowest Nu. Effects of the square cylinder on heat transfer characteristics are significant with considering Brownian motion. Enhancement in the maximum value of Nu of 29 % and 26 % are obtained at the lower and the upper walls of the channel, respectively, by considering the Brownian effects, with square cylinder, compared with that in the case without considering the Brownian motion. On the other hand, results show a marked improvement in heat transfer compared to the base fluid, this improvement is more pronounced on the upper wall for higher ?.     

Core–shell nanophosphor with enhanced NIR–visible upconversion as spectrum modifier for enhancement of solar cell efficiency

A distinct enhancement of upconversion luminescence from core to core/shell (C/S) structure under low flux near infrared (NIR) excitation at 976 nm has been achieved in lanthanide (Er³⁺, Yb³⁺)-doped NaYF₄ core with undoped NaYF₄ shell nanoparticles (NP). A green chemistry approach has been taken to synthesize monodisperse monophasic C/S NP with the core (~20 nm) and shell (~5 nm) crystallizing into cubic phase. Hydrophobic C/S NP have been further made hydrophilic by coating a transparent SHMP layer without affecting luminescence. C/S (NaYF₄: Er, Yb/NaYF₄) NP integrated dye-sensitized solar cell indicated 11.9% enhancement in overall conversion efficiency under AM 1.5 conditions, due to NIR–visible spectrum modification by fluorescent NPs. The results indicate great potential of such upconverting C/S nanophosphor in solar cell applications.     

Enhanced UV-excited luminescence of europium ions in silver/tin-doped glass

Glasses containing silver, tin and europium were prepared by the melt-quenching technique with silver nanoparticles (NPs) being embedded upon heat treatment (HT). An intensification of Eu³⁺ ions emission was observed for non-resonant excitation around 270 nm, corresponding to UV absorption in the material. Optical measurements suggest that light absorption occurs at single Ag⁺ ions and/or twofold-coordinated Sn centers followed by energy transfer to europium which results in populating the ⁵D₀ emitting state in Eu³⁺. After HT at 843 K, a quenching effect is observed on Eu³⁺ luminescence with increasing holding time in the 350–550 nm excitation range. The quenching effect shows with the presence of Ag NPs which may provide multipole radiationless pathways for excitation energy loss in europium ions.     

Self-rewetting carbon nanofluid as working fluid for space and terrestrial heat pipes

Thermal management is very important in modern electronic systems. Recent researches have been dedicated to the study of the heat transfer performances of binary heat transfer fluids with peculiar surface tension properties and in particular to that of “self-rewetting fluids”, i.e., liquids with a surface tension increasing with temperature and concentration. Since in the course of liquid/vapor-phase change, self-rewetting fluids behavior induces a rather strong liquid inflow (caused by both temperature and concentration gradients) from the cold region (where liquid condensates) to the hot evaporator region, this fluids have been proposed and investigated as new heat transfer fluids for advanced heat transfer devices, e.g., heat pipes or heat spreaders for terrestrial and space applications (Savino et al. in Space Technol 25(1):59–61, 2009). The present work is dedicated to the study of the thermophysical properties of a new class of heat transfer fluids based on water/alcohol solutions with suspended carbon nanostructures, in particular single-wall carbon nanohorns (SWNH), synthesized by a homemade apparatus with an AC arc discharge in open air (Mirabile Gattia et al. in Nanotechnology 18:255604, 2007). SWNHs are cone-shaped nanoparticles with diameters between 1 and 5 nm and lengths in the range of 20–100 nm. SWNHs could be found in the form of quite-spherical aggregates with diameters ranging from 20 to 100 nm. The paper also discusses the results of these investigations and laboratory characterization tests of different heat pipes, including reference ordinary heat pipes and innovative pipes filled with self-rewetting fluids and self-rewetting nanofluids. The potential interest of the proposed studies stems from the large number of possible industrial applications, including space technologies and terrestrial applications, such as cooling of electronic components.     

A chemical strategy to control the shape of oxide nanoparticles

A new strategy, epoxide-assisted precipitation route presented in this work, allows the shape control synthesis of Co₃O₄ nanoparticles. The shape of the nanoparticles is determined by the nature of the precursor cobalt salts (Co(NO₃)₂ · 6H₂O, CoCl₂ · 6H₂O) used for the preparation of the particles. The different reaction dynamics of the two salts in ethanolic and aqueous solutions with propylene oxide result in precursor particles with different structures, which lead to the formation of oxide nanoparticles with different shapes during the heat treatment. Spherical particles of about 20 nm are obtained from the ethanolic solution of Co(NO₃)₂ · 6H₂O; cubic-shaped particles of about 30 nm can be prepared from the ethanolic solution of CoCl₂ · 6H₂O; whereas platelet-like particles of more than 100 nm are synthesized from the aqueous solution of the mixture of Co(NO₃)₂ · 6H₂O and CoCl₂ · 6H₂O.     

Methoxycarbonyl-terminated hyperbranched poly(amine-ester) as templates for synthesis of silver nanoparticles

Highly stable and spherical silver nanoparticles, stabilized by methoxycarbonyl-terminated hyperbranched poly(amine-ester) (HPAE-COOCH₃), were synthesized in water with reducing AgNO₃/HPAE-COOCH₃ using two methods, viz. NaBH₄ and ultraviolet irradiation. HPAE-COOCH₃ was found to play a key role in the formation of nanoparticles. UV–visible absorption, Transmission electron microscopic (TEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) had been used to study the structure and characterization of the silver nanoparticles. The absorption peaks of the silver nanoparticles appear at ~420 nm in UV–visible absorption spectra; average particle size reduced by NaBH₄ is ~30 nm, which is ~10 and ~15 nm, respectively, when ultraviolet irradiation time is 12 and 24 h. FT-IR spectra confirm that there is strong interaction between silver nanoparticles and HPAE-COOCH₃. And silver nanoparticles/HPAE-COOCH₃ aqueous solution can keep stable for more than 3 months.