Effect of Ag nanoparticle addition and ultrasonic treatment on a stable TiO2 nanofluid

Nanoparticles, when homogeneously dispersed in a base fluid, e.g. water, ethylene glycol etc. are commonly known as nanofluids. Nanofluids have gained attention in the scientific community for their enhanced thermal properties. One of the major problems in using nanofluids as a heat transfer medium for commercial applications is that, in most of the closed circuit industrial cooling processes, the cooling fluid has to be replaced after several cycles of cooling operation because of an increased presence of contaminants. If nanofluids were used as a coolant, it would be very hard to separate the nanoparticles from the waste fluid. The present work is aimed at the separation and recycling of nanoparticles from fluid waste by means of quick settling of titanium dioxide nanoparticles using silver nanoparticles along with ultrasonic treatment. It is observed that with increasing silver concentration and time of ultrasonication, the stability of the dispersion decreases. There is a value for both the silver concentration and ultrasonication time above which the settling time decreases drastically.

► The present work reports quick sedimentation of a stable TiO2 nanofluid.
► This is achieved using Ag nanoparticle in conjunction with ultrasonication.
► The settling rate increases with increase in concentration of silver nanoparticles.
► For a fixed concentration of silver the settling rate increases with increase in ultrasonication time.