Thermal diffusivity of nanofluids containing Au/Pd bimetallic nanoparticles of different compositions

Colloidal suspensions of bimetallic Au/Pd nanoparticles were prepared by simultaneous reduction of the metal ions from their corresponding chloride salts with polymer (PVP) stabilizer. Thermal properties of water containing bimetallic nanoparticles with different nominal compositions (Au/Pd = 12/1, 5/1, 1/1, 1/5) were measured using the mode mismatched dual-beam thermal lens technique to determine the effect of particle composition on the thermal diffusivity of the nanofluids. The characteristic time constant of the transient thermal lens was estimated by fitting the experimental data to the theoretical expression for transient thermal lens. The thermal diffusivity of the nanofluids (water, containing Au/Pd bimetallic nanoparticles) is seen to be strongly dependent on the composition of the particles. The maximum diffusivity was achieved for the nanoparticles with highest Au/Pd molar ratio. A possible mechanism for such high thermal diffusivity of the nanofluids with bimetallic particles is given. UV-Vis spectroscopy, TEM and high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM) techniques were used to characterize the Au/Pd bimetallic nanoparticles.