Thermo-physical profile of zinc oxide nanoparticles dispersed in aqueous solution of propylene glycol

In this investigation zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were synthesized by precipitation method using Zn(CH3COO)(2) as a starting material. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). These nanoparticles were dispersed in 10% aqueous solution of propylene glycol in various concentrations with the help of ultrasonicator to obtain nanofluids of different concentrations. Ultrasonic velocity (u), density (rho) and viscosity (eta) of these nanofluids were measured experimentally as a function of temperatures (T = 303.15 K, 308.15 K and 313.15 K). Using these experimentally measured values various acoustic parameters such as adiabatic compressibility (pad), intermolecular free length (4), relaxation time (7), acoustic impedance (Z), free volume (V-f) and attenuation coefficient (alpha/f(2)) were evaluated with a view to investigate molecular interactions. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.