Optical Absorption and Photo-Thermal Conversion Properties of CuO/H2O Nanofluids

Stable CuO/H2O nanofluids were synthesized in a wet chemical method. Optical absorption property of CuO/H2O nanofluids was investigated with hemispheric transmission spectrum in the wavelength range from 200 nm to 2500 nm. Photo-thermal conversion property of the CuO/H2O nanofluids was studied with an evaluation system equipped with an AUT-FSL semiconductor/solid state laser. The results indicate that CuO/H2O nanofluids have strong absorption in visible light region where water has little absorption. Under the irradiation of laser beam with a wavelength of 635 nm and a power of 0.015 W, the temperature of CuO/H2O nanofluids with 1.0% mass fraction increased by 5.6 °C within 40 seconds. Furthermore, the temperature elevation of CuO/H2O nanofluids was proved to increase with increasing mass fractions. On the contrast, water showed little temperature elevation under the identical conditions. The present work shows that the CuO/H2O nanofluids have high potential in the application as working fluids for solar utilization purpose.