Investigation of nanofluids in alkaline electrolytes: Stability, electrical properties, and hydrogen production
Shihao Wei, Boris V. Balakin, Pawel Kosinski
Abstract
Utilizing solar energy efficiently and manufacturing hydrogen economically are the primary goals in the energy industry. In this paper, we present a novel method to solve both issues by exploiting the electrolysis of electrolyte-based nanofluids under the illumination of solar light. The carbon black nanoparticles/sodium hydroxide solution mixture of electrolyte nanofluids were prepared, which were then electrolyzed in a Hoffman voltameter to produce hydrogen. The results showed the hydrogen production rate improved by 23.62% when carbon black was used in the electrolyte. The optimal carbon black concentration was 0.04% or 0.2% depending on the experimental set-up used. Finally, a theoretical model was built to evaluate the total hydrogen production, which showed a good agreement with the experimental results when the carbon black concentration was lower than 0.1 wt.%.