Influence of temperature and inhibitor content on the lifetime of copper nanoparticles in a propylene glycol‐based nanofluid

Abstract

The present paper investigated the lifetime of copper nanoparticles in a propylene glycol-based nanofluid. The corrosion behavior of nanoparticles was observed by means of linear polarization resistance, resistometry, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Copper nanoparticles were tested in pure propylene glycol with the addition of the inhibitors benztriazole, benzimidazole, and tolyltriazole. The best performance was found with tolyltriazole as it provided some inhibiting efficiency even at higher temperatures, i.e., up to 120 8C. A layer of cuprous oxide was observed on the surface after exposure to propylene glycol, but this oxide was defective on the curved surface of nanoparticles. The corrosion rate of nanoparticles was at least two orders of magnitude greater than the corrosion rate of the compact sample. The lifetime of bare copper nanoparticles was not sufficient for practical purposes even when an inhibitor was used.