The Effects of the Surfactant Type on the Nanofluids Stability

계면활성제 특성에 따른 나노입자 분산안정도 향상 연구

The effects of the surfactant type, i.e., CTAB(cationic), SDS(anionic), and GA(polymeric), on the stability of 0.1 vol.% $Al_2O_3$ nanofluids were investigated. The changes in size and zeta potential of nanoparticles in nanofluids with pH, surfactant concentration, and time were experimentally observed. The nanofluids adding CTAB, which ionizes of the same charge with the bare particle surface, was found to have the best stability regardless of the surfactant concentration, whereas those with SDS became unstable under low surfactant concentration conditions, i.e. lower than the critical micellel concentration(CMC), before the charge reversal occurred. With higher SDS concentration over CMC, they became stable. Gum Arabic, which had been used often to stabilize the nanofluids, was also tested. In result, it was found that the type and concentration of surfactants to add should be selected considering pH and the sign of the bare particle surface charge.