Structure, DFT calculations and heat transfer enhancement in [ZnO/PG + H2O]C hybrid nanofluid flow as a potential solar cell coolant application in a double-tube

Abstract

This study concentrated on the deployment of PG + H2O (30:70) in a solar cell cooling system-based combination ZnO nanofluid. Zinc oxide nanoparticles [ZnO]NPs, with crystallite size of average 70 ± 1 nm, were synthesized by a sol–gel method. The results specifically demonstrate that, the optical energy band difference values decrease from 4.644 eV for [ZnO + PG]NPs to 4.615 eV for and [ZnO/PG + H2O]C using the Tauc’s equation. Propylene glycol (PG)/water blend was doped with [ZnO]NPs at various concentrations < 1.0 wt% to study the optical characteristics of these nanofluids. The goal of this analysis is to test the hydrothermal efficiency, thermal conductivity, and viscosity of a non-Newtonian hybrid nanofluid in double-channel heat exchange device. Different experimental characterization techniques for [ZnO/PG + H2O]C like UV–Vis, FT-IR, XRD, SEM, DFT calculations and optical characteristics have been used. The overall coefficient of heat transfer in the cell cooling system has been improved, with the rise of [ZnO]NPs (has achieved the most at 0.3 vol%) in ZnO–PG nanofluid. The coefficient of heat transfer has been enhanced 46% at the temperature from 40 to 60 °C with 0.2 vol% of [ZnO]NPs. The findings showed [ZnO/PG + H2O]C nanofluid is rapidly absorbing heat and solar radiation, compared with PG–H2O.