Development, Characterization and Performance Evaluation of Graphene Oxide Nanofluid in EG:Water-Based PV/Thermal System

The advanced nanofluid with good stability is demand of industry as well as solar thermal systems. In industrial application, Graphene Oxide (GO) nanofluid formulated with Ethylene Glycol (EG): water (W) is usually known well for good stability along with high thermal conductivity. In this research, GO nanofluid is characterized for exploring thermal, optical, and suspension stability under certain conditions and then utilized as working fluid in photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) system. SEM, UV–vis, FTIR and TGA analysis are performed for morphology, optical and thermal stability characterization respectively. Thermal conductivity measurements of the GO/EG:W nanofluid revealed an enhancement of 9.5% at 40 °C compared to water. It also displayed good long-term stability, with a zeta potential of 30.3 mV. The long-term stability with time as well as stability at high temperature of GO nanofluid give a good room for future researchers to use it as coolant in solar PV panel. Because large increment in thermal conductivity of EG:W nanofluid of GO may act very amazing media for heat transport which resulted in enhancement of performance of PV solar panels. Therefore the electrical as well as thermal efficiencies of the PV/Thermal system improved.