Diamond nanoparticles hailed for thermal conductivity

Rice scientists are said to have mixed low concentrations of diamond particles measuring approximately 6nm in diameter with mineral oil to test the nanofluid’s thermal conductivity and how temperature would affect its viscosity. They found it to be much better than nanofluids that contain higher amounts of oxide, nitride or carbide ceramics, metals, semiconductors, carbon nanotubes and other composite materials.

The Rice results have appeared in the American Chemical Society journal Applied Materials and Interfaces.

The work, which could improve applications where control of heat is paramount, was led by Pulickel Ajayan, chair of Rice’s Materials Science and NanoEngineering Department, and Rice alumnus Jaime Taha-Tijerina, now a research scientist at Viakable Technology and Research Center in Monterrey, Mexico, and a research collaborator at Carbon Sponge Solutions in Houston.

Thermal fluids are used to alleviate wear on components and tools and for machining operations like stamping and drilling, medical therapy and diagnosis, biopharmaceuticals, air conditioning, fuel cells, power transmission systems, solar cells, micro- and nanoelectronic mechanical systems and cooling systems for everything from engines to nuclear reactors.