A Short Overview on Graphene-Based Nanofluids

In this short review, the nanofluids based on graphene and graphene derivatives are discussed in terms of thermophysical properties. Regular heat transfer fluids as water, ethylene glycol, mixtures of those two as well as oils, ionic liquids, or other glycols are widely used in most of the cooling and heating applications. Nevertheless, nanoparticle-enhanced fluids are coming to the forefront of industrial applications, but the research is still ongoing in order to propose a better and viable alternative, with higher convection coefficients. On the other hand, carbon-based materials have a very high thermal conductivity and are the best candidates for a higher conductive new fluid. This particular overview implies the use of graphene and its derivatives (graphene nanoplatelets, graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide etc.) as a base for nanofluids development. As a conclusion, thermal conductivity is increased up to 30 % for low nanoparticle loading, while the main drawback is the large increase in viscosity. Specific heat and density are not methodically studied and this is a disadvantage. Another observation derived from state of the art review is that coordinated studies are not noticed.