Investigating the Reduction/Oxidation Reversibility of Graphene Oxide for Photocatalytic Applications.

The aim of the study was to analyze the reversibility of the cycle of graphene oxide (GO), reduced GO, and GO obtained by consecutive reoxidation of reduced GO. Accordingly, GO was heated in three different atmospheres (oxidizing, inert, and reducing, i.e., air, nitrogen, and argon/hydrogen mixture, respectively) at 400 °C to obtain reduced GO with varying composition. The bare GO and the RGO samples were oxidized or reoxidized with HNO3. The thermal properties, composition, bonds, and structure of the samples were investigated with TG/DTA, EDX, Raman spectroscopy, and XRD. Their photocatalytic activity was tested by decomposing methyl orange dye under UV light irradiation.

Thermal Conductivity Enhancement of Atomic Layer Deposition Surface-Modified Carbon Nanosphere and Carbon Nanopowder Nanofluids.

In this paper, we present a study on thermal conductivity and viscosity of nanofluids containing novel atomic layer deposition surface-modified carbon nanosphere (ALD-CNS) and carbon nanopowder (ALD-CNP) core-shell nanocomposites. The nanocomposites were produced by atomic layer deposition of amorphous TiO2. The nanostructures were characterised by scanning (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetry/differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). High-concentration, stable nanofluids were prepared with 1.5, 1.0 and 0.5 vol% nanoparticle content. The thermal conductivity and viscosity of the nanofluids were measured, and their stability was evaluated with Zeta potential measurements. The ALD-CNS enhanced the thermal conductivity of the 1:5 ethanol:water mixture by 4.6% with a 1.5 vol% concentration, and the viscosity increased by 37.5%. The ALD-CNS increased the thermal conductivity of ethylene-glycol by 10.8, whereas the viscosity increased by 15.9%. The use of a surfactant was unnecessary due to the ALD-deposited TiO2 layer.

Comparative Study of Carbon Nanosphere and Carbon Nanopowder on Viscosity and Thermal Conductivity of Nanofluids.

A comparative research on stability, viscosity (µ), and thermal conductivity (k) of carbon nanosphere (CNS) and carbon nanopowder (CNP) nanofluids was performed. CNS was synthesized by the hydrothermal method, while CNP was provided by the manufacturer. Stable nanofluids at high concentrations 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 vol% were prepared successfully. The properties of CNS and CNP nanoparticles were analyzed with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), specific surface area (SBET), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetry/differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA), and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). The CNP nanofluids have the highest k enhancement of 10.61% for 1.5 vol% concentration compared to the base fluid, while the CNS does not make the thermal conductivity of nanofluids (knf) significantly higher. The studied nanofluids were Newtonian. The relative µ of CNS and CNP nanofluids was 1.04 and 1.07 at 0.5 vol% concentration and 30 °C. These results can be explained by the different sizes and crystallinity of the used nanoparticles.