ABSTRACT
This work deals with sonochemical synthesis of finely dispersed reduced graphene oxide–TiO2 (rGO/TiO2) nanocomposites with successful immobilisation of TiO2 nanoparticles on rGO. Structural and morphological analysis of prepared rGO/TiO2 nanocomposite was done with the use of UV/VIS, TEM, XRD and FTIR analysis that confirms the formation of finely dispersed rGO/TiO2 nanocomposite. A helical coiled heat exchanger was used for examining convective heat transfer enhancement exhibited by the prepared rGO/TiO2 nanocomposite-based nanofluid. Thermal conductivity enhancement of rGO/TiO2 nanocomposite-based nanofluids with the nanocomposite loading of 0.1–0.5 volume % in water was investigated. An investigation on improvement in the heat transfer coefficient was carried out at different loading of rGO/TiO2 nanocomposite in base fluid at various Reynolds number values. Percentage enhancement in the heat transfer coefficient was around 35.7% for 0.25 volume % concentration of rGO/TiO2 nanocomposite in base fluid.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.