Nanocarbon nanofluids: morphology and nanostructure comparisons
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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Creating Sub-50 Nm Nanofluidic Junctions in PDMS Microfluidic Chip via Self-Assembly Process of Colloidal Particles
Published on: March 13, 2016
Randy L Vander Wal1, Steven D Mozes, Vladimir Pushkarev
1Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, EMS Energy Institute, Penn State University, 203 Hosler Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA. ruv12@psu.edu
Abstract:
Reported here are experimental results of studies designed to identify the operable mechanisms responsible for the gains in thermal conductivity of nanofluids based on nanocarbons. Comparison of functionalized versus nonfunctionalized nanocarbons addresses the effect of interfacial fluid ordering. Comparison between graphitized and nongraphitized carbon black addresses the effect of long-range phonon propagation. Comparison between multi-walled nanotubes and carbon black addresses particle aggregation by comparing two very different, yet fixed, nanocarbon morphologies. Lastly, partial network formation, i.e., spatially distributed clustering, is addressed by varied concentrations of different nanocarbon morphologies.

