Measurement and study of thermophysical properties of nanofluids with carbon nanotubes

This article is devoted to the study of the thermophysical properties of nanofluids with single-walled and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT). Their weight concentration varied from 0.05 to 0.2%. Nanofluids, based on ethylene glycol and water, were studied. Dispersants were also used. The diffusion of CNT had been systematically investigated by the method of dynamic light scattering and their effective hydrodynamic dimensions were determined. The rheology and viscosity of all nanofluids were studied. It is shown that nanofluids are either pseu-doplastic or viscoplastic. Their rheology changes with increasing CNT concentration and temperature. However, in all cases, the viscosity of nanofluids with single-walled CNTs is signifi-cantly higher than that of nanofluids with multi-walled CNTs. In the last part, the electrical conductivity of all these nanofluids and the dispersants effect on it are investigated.

Heat and Mass Transfer Enhancement of MHD Hybrid Nanofluid Flow in the Presence of Activation Energy

In this study, water is apprehended as conventional fluid with the suspension of two types of hybrid nanoparticles, namely, single-walled CNTs (SWCNTs) and multiwalled CNTs (MWCNTs). The influence of a magnetic field, thermal radiation, and activation energy with binary chemical reaction has been added to better examine the fine point of hybrid nanofluid flow. The mathematical structure regarding the physical model for hybrid nanofluid is established and then the similarity variables are induced to transmute the leading PDEs into nonlinear ODEs. These equations were solved using the shooting technique together with RKF 4-5th order for various values of the governing parameters numerically. The results of prominent parameters were manifested through graphs and tables. The results indicate that the hybrid nanofluid SWCNT − MWCNT / water is fully adequate in cooling and heating compared to other hybrid nanofluids. In addition, the rise in the value of activation energy E upsurges the nanoparticle transfer rate of hybrid nanofluid.

Dispersion of Carbon Nanotubes with “Green” Detergents

Solubilization of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is a fundamental technique for the use of CNTs and their conjugates as nanodevices and nanobiodevices. In this work, we demonstrate the preparation of CNT suspensions with “green” detergents made from coconuts and bamboo as fundamental research in CNT nanotechnology. Single-walled CNTs (SWNTs) with a few carboxylic acid groups (3–5%) and pristine multi-walled CNTs (MWNTs) were mixed in each detergent solution and sonicated with a bath-type sonicator. The prepared suspensions were characterized using absorbance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. Among the eight combinations of CNTs and detergents (two types of CNTs and four detergents, including sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as the standard), SWNTs/MWNTs were well dispersed in all combinations except the combination of the MWNTs and the bamboo detergent. The stability of the suspensions prepared with coconut detergents was better than that prepared with SDS. Because the efficiency of the bamboo detergents against the MWNTs differed significantly from that against the SWNTs, the natural detergent might be useful for separating CNTs. Our results revealed that the use of the “green” detergents had the advantage of dispersing CNTs as well as SDS.

Enhancing thermoelectric properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes using halide compounds at room temperature and above

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are materials with exceptional electrical, thermal, mechanical, and optical properties. Ever since it was demonstrated that they also possess interesting thermoelectric properties, they have been considered a promising solution for thermal energy harvesting. In this study, we present a simple method to enhance their performance. For this purpose, thin films obtained from high-quality single-walled CNTs (SWCNTs) were doped with a spectrum of inorganic and organic halide compounds. We studied how incorporating various halide species affects the electrical conductivity, the Seebeck coefficient, and the Power Factor. Since thermoelectric devices operate under non-ambient conditions, we also evaluated these materials' performance at elevated temperatures. Our research shows that appropriate dopant selection can result in almost fivefold improvement to the Power Factor compared to the pristine material. We also demonstrate that the chemical potential of the starting CNT network determines its properties, which is important for deciphering the true impact of chemical and physical functionalization of such ensembles.

Sulfuric Acid Resistance of CNT-Cementitious Composites

This study analyzed changes in the durability characteristics of cement mortar incorporating carbon nanotube (CNT) and the electrical properties subjected to deterioration induced by sulfate attack. Powder types of multi-walled or single-walled CNTs were used and added to the composites with 1.0% and 2.0% mass fraction, and the specimens were immersed in 5% and 10% sulfuric acid solutions to investigate the durability of CNT cementitious composites. Although mechanical performance decreased due to relatively large pores (370–80 μm) caused by CNTs, specimens incorporating CNTs exhibited enhanced resistance to sulfuric acid as CNTs, which offered strong resistance to acid corrosion, and prevented contact between the cement hydrate and the sulfuric acid solution. Therefore, it is expected that self-sensing performance was exhibited because there were no significant differences in the electrical properties of cement mortar subjected to the deterioration by sulfate attack.

Impact-resistant carbon nanotube woven films: A molecular dynamics study

The fiber-based fabrics have great potentials in impacting protection. Here we proposed a novel nanostructure, where the single-walled CNTs (SWCNTs) was employed to weave plain 2D films. The in-plane mechanical...

The Use of Gravity Filtration of Carbon Nanotubes from Suspension to Produce Films with Low Roughness for Carbon Nanotube/Silicon Heterojunction Solar Device Application

The morphology of carbon nanotube (CNT) films is an important factor in the performance of CNT/silicon (CNT/Si) heterojunction solar devices. Films have generally been prepared via vacuum filtration from aqueous suspensions. Whilst this enables strong films to be formed quickly, they are highly disordered on the micron scale, with many charge traps and gaps forming in the films. It has been previously established that lowering the filtration speed enables more ordered films to be formed. The use of slow gravity filtration to improve the morphology of CNT films used in the CNT/Si device is reported here. It was found that slow filtration causes significant macroscale inhomogeneity in the CNT films, with concentrated thick regions, surrounded by larger thinner areas. By using atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and polarised Raman spectroscopy, it was determined that there was no large improvement in directional organisation of the CNTs on the microscale. However, the films were found to be much smoother on the microscale, with arithmetic and root mean square average height deviation values roughly 3 times lower for slow-filtered films compared to fast-filtered films. A comparison was performed with CNT-Si solar cells fabricated with both slow and fast-filtered single-walled CNTs (SWCNT) films. It was found that slow filtration can produce similar photovoltaic results with thinner films. The results demonstrate that film morphology, even without improved CNT alignment, can lead to significant improvement in device performance in some applications. However, slow filtration did not form films of uniform light transmittance over an extended area, causing an increase in the variation in performance between individual devices compared to fast-filtered films.

Antimicrobial Effect of Multilayered Carbon Nanotubes on Multi-Drug-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the primary cause of infection with impaired defense mechanisms. P. aeruginosa commonly causes nosocomial infections and is the most common pathogen isolated from patients hospitalized for longer than 1 week. We examined the antimicrobial effect of multilayered carbon nanotubes on multi-drug-resistant. Materials and Methods: In this research, 20 clinical isolates collected at Motahari Hospital (Tehran, Iran) were compared with the standard (ATCC 27853) and identified as P. aeruginosa based on biochemical testing. Conventional disk diffusion assay demonstrated the methicillin resistance of the isolates. Minimal inhibitory concentrations for antibiotics and the multilayer CNTs were determined using the microdilution method. Single-walled CNTs were prepared and their efficacy and potential synergism with antibiotics was assessed. Results: Synergism against P. aeruginosa was evident for methicillin + single-walled CNTs. Conclusion: The inhibitory effect of single-walled CNTs and methicillin was synergistic against the growth of P. aeruginosa.

Carbon Nanotubes Enhance the Radiation Resistance of bcc Iron Revealed by Atomistic Study

With extra space, a carbon nanotube (CNT) could serve as an absorber of point defects, including helium interstitials, and outgas the accumulate helium via “nano-chimneys”. The radiation resistance of CNT/Fe has still not been fully understood. Herein, we investigated the influence of CNTs on low-energy helium irradiation resistance in CNT/Fe composites by molecular dynamic simulations. CNTs reduced the small and medium He clusters in the Fe matrix. When the incident energy of the He atoms was 300 eV, the He atoms aggregated at the outer surface of CNTs. CNTs postponed the formation of He bubbles. When the irradiation energy was higher than 600 eV, He atoms could penetrate the walls of CNTs and form clusters inside the single-walled CNTs or the space in double-walled CNTs—the latter presented better performance. The reduction of Frenkel pair point defects suggested the enhancement of radiation resistance by the presentation of CNTs. Our results might be useful for the material design of advanced steels for radiation resistance.