Temperature dependence of interfacial properties and viscosity of nanofluids for droplet-based microfluidics

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Author(s)
Murshed, SM Sohel
Tan, Say-Hwa
Nguyen, Nam-Trung
Year published
2008
Metadata
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Interfacial tension and viscosity of a liquid play an important role in microfluidic systems. In this study, temperature dependence of surface tension, interfacial tension and viscosity of a nanofluid are investigated for its applicability in droplet-based microfluidics. Experimental results show that nanofluids having TiO2 nanoparticles of 15?nm diameter in deionized water exhibit substantially smaller surface tension and oil-based interfacial tension than those of the base fluid (i.e. deionized water). These surface and interfacial tensions of this nanofluid were found to decrease almost linearly with increasing temperature. ...
View more >Interfacial tension and viscosity of a liquid play an important role in microfluidic systems. In this study, temperature dependence of surface tension, interfacial tension and viscosity of a nanofluid are investigated for its applicability in droplet-based microfluidics. Experimental results show that nanofluids having TiO2 nanoparticles of 15?nm diameter in deionized water exhibit substantially smaller surface tension and oil-based interfacial tension than those of the base fluid (i.e. deionized water). These surface and interfacial tensions of this nanofluid were found to decrease almost linearly with increasing temperature. The Brownian motion of nanoparticles in the base fluid was identified as a possible mechanism for reduced surface and interfacial tensions of the nanofluid. The measured effective viscosity of the nanofluid was found to be insignificantly higher than that of the base fluid and to decrease with increasing fluid temperature. The dependence on the temperature of the droplet formation at the T-junction of a microfluidic device is also studied and the nanofluid shows larger droplet size compared with its base fluid.
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View more >Interfacial tension and viscosity of a liquid play an important role in microfluidic systems. In this study, temperature dependence of surface tension, interfacial tension and viscosity of a nanofluid are investigated for its applicability in droplet-based microfluidics. Experimental results show that nanofluids having TiO2 nanoparticles of 15?nm diameter in deionized water exhibit substantially smaller surface tension and oil-based interfacial tension than those of the base fluid (i.e. deionized water). These surface and interfacial tensions of this nanofluid were found to decrease almost linearly with increasing temperature. The Brownian motion of nanoparticles in the base fluid was identified as a possible mechanism for reduced surface and interfacial tensions of the nanofluid. The measured effective viscosity of the nanofluid was found to be insignificantly higher than that of the base fluid and to decrease with increasing fluid temperature. The dependence on the temperature of the droplet formation at the T-junction of a microfluidic device is also studied and the nanofluid shows larger droplet size compared with its base fluid.
View less >
Journal Title
Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics
Volume
41
Issue
8
Copyright Statement
© 2008 Institute of Physics Publishing. This is the author-manuscript version of this paper. Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.Please refer to the journal's website for access to the definitive, published version.
Subject
Physical sciences
Other physical sciences not elsewhere classified
Engineering