Thermal Conductivity Enhancement Phenomena in Ionic Liquid-Based Nanofluids (Ionanofluids)

The dispersion of nanoparticles into ionic liquids leads to enhancement of their thermal conductivity. Several papers report on various enhancement values, whereas the comparison between these values with those from theoretical calculations is not always performed. These thermal conductivity enhancements are desired due to their beneficial impact on heat transfer performance in processes requiring the utilisation of heat transfer fluids. Moreover, on the one hand, the theoretical modelling of these enhancements might lead to an easier, cheaper, and faster heat transfer unit design, which could be an enormous advantage in the design of novel industrial applications. On the other hand, it significantly impacts the enhancement mechanism. The aim of this work is to discuss the enhancement of thermal conductivity caused by the dispersion of nanoparticles in ionic liquids, including the analysis of their errors, followed by its theoretical modelling. Furthermore, a comparison between the data reported herein with those available in the literature is carried out following the reproducibility of the thermal conductivity statement. The ionic liquids studied were 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethylsulfate, 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, and 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, while carbon nanotubes, boron nitride, and graphite were selected as nanoparticles to be dispersed in the investigated ionic liquids to design novel heat transfer fluids.