title: Mechanical Dispersion of Nanoparticles and Its Effect on the Specific Heat Capacity of Impure Binary Nitrate Salt Mixtures.
abstract: In this study, the effect of nanoparticle concentration was tested for both CuO and TiO₂ in eutectic mixture of sodium and potassium nitrate. Results showed an enhancement in specific heat capacity (Cp) for both types of nanoparticles (+10.48% at 440 °C for 0.1 wt % CuO and +4.95% at 440 °C for 0.5 wt % TiO₂) but the behavior toward a rise in concentration was different with CuO displaying its highest enhancement at the lowest concentration whilst TiO₂ showed no concentration dependence for three of the four different concentrations tested. The production of cluster of nanoparticles was visible in CuO but not in TiO₂. This formation of nanostructure in molten salt might promote the enhancement inCp. However, the size and shape of these structures will most likely impact the energy density of the molten salt.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK. m.lasfargues@leeds.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Mathieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lasfargues
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. gxq471@student.bham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Qiao
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Geng
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. h.cao@bham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. y.ding@bham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Yulong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ding
keywords: energy storage; molten salt; nanoparticles