Dispersing mechanism and tribological performance of vegetable oil-based CNT nanofluids with different surfactants

CNTs are commonly used nanoparticles in NMQL for their excellent heat transfer enhancement performance. However, winding and conglobation are constraints against their tribological performance, these constraints can be solved by surfactants. However, the influences of surfactant type and dispersing mechanism on the dispersion effect of CNTs have not been studied systemically. Consequently, this study analyzed the dispersing mechanism of different surfactants and evaluated the dispersion stability and tribological performances of PPO-based CNT nanofluids. Results showed that nanofluids with APE-10 obtain the highest viscosity, lowest friction coefficient, minimum roughness value and favorable surface morphology, thus indicating their excellent dispersion stability and tribological performance. Further, different experimental evaluations confirm that APE-10 is the optimal dispersant of CNT nanofluids.