Specific heat of nanofluids synthesized by dispersing alumina nanoparticles in alkali salt eutectic

In this study, we report large enhancement in specific heat capacity of a eutectic salt mixture on dispersing alumina nanoparticles at 1% mass concentration. Eutectic of lithium carbonate and potassium carbonate (62:38 by molar ratio) was dissolved in distilled water with alumina nanoparticles at 1.0% mass concentration and with a nominal diameter of similar to 10 nm. The specific heat capacity measurement was performed using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). An alternate model involving in situ phase transformation was proposed which was found to be in good agreement with the variations observed in the experimental data for the different types of nanomaterial samples used in this study. These salt nanofluids can lead to the development of efficient thermal energy storage systems which in turn can enable significant reduction in the cost of solar power. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.