From Thermal to Electroactive Graphene Nanofluids

Daniel Rueda-García,Zahilia Cabán-Huertas,Deepak P Dubal,Raúl Benages-Vilau,Emigdio Chávez-Angel,Pedro Gómez-Romero,María Del Rocío Rodríguez-Laguna

doi:10.3390/en12234545

Daniel Rueda-García, Zahilia Cabán-Huertas + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/en12234545

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Journal: Energies	Publication Date: Nov 28, 2019
Citations: 11	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia

Abstract

Here, we describe selected work on the development and study of nanofluids based on graphene and reduced graphene oxide both in aqueous and organic electrolytes. A thorough study of thermal properties of graphene in amide organic solvents (N,N-dimethylformamide, N,N-dimethylacetamide, and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone) showed a substantial increase of thermal conductivity and specific heat upon graphene integration in those solvents. In addition to these thermal studies, our group has also pioneered a distinct line of work on electroactive nanofluids for energy storage. In this case, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanofluids in aqueous electrolytes were studied and characterized by cyclic voltammetry and charge-discharge cycles (i.e., in new flow cells). In addition, hybrid configurations (both hybrid nanofluid materials and hybrid cells combining faradaic and capacitive activities) were studied and are summarized here.

Highlights

An increasing number of applications related to energy conversion and storage rely on graphene because of its extraordinary combination of properties [1,2]
Notwithstanding the importance of nanofluids for thermal energy transfer and storage, which we have studied, we have shown in this article the potential of nanofluids in other novel applications, namely, electrochemical energy storage
From the results shown here, we can induce important general conclusions concerning the extended effects of small amounts of solid throughout the whole volume of the nanofluid

Summary

Introduction

An increasing number of applications related to energy conversion and storage rely on graphene because of its extraordinary combination of properties [1,2]. In the case of heat transfer fluids (HTFs), all types of solids, from metals to oxides to carbons have been widely studied given the superior thermal conductivity of solids as compared to liquids [5], magnetic or electrochemical nanofluids are much more restricted to phases with the necessary magnetic or electroactive nature. In the latter type, electroactivity can be redox [6,7] or capacitive [8], hybrid materials and devices combining both of those are possible [9]. International Conference of Nanofluids [12]

Materials and Methods

Thermal Graphene Nanofluids

Electroactive Graphene Nanofluids

Findings

Summary and Conclusions