Thermal Conductivity of Ethanol/MIL-101(Cr) Nanofluid Combining Molecular Dynamics and Experiments

The incorporation of MOFs can potentially enhance the thermodynamic properties of the base fluid, thereby improving the efficiency of thermodynamics cycles. The thermal conductivity (λ) is an important thermophysical property of working fluid; however, the thermal conductivity mechanism of metal–organic heat carrier nanofluids (MOHCs) remains unclear. Here, λ of MIL-101(Cr)/ethanol nanofluids is investigated through experiments and molecular dynamic simulation. The experimental results demonstrate that the addition of MIL-101(Cr) improves the λ of the base fluid. Also, the λ of MOHCs was calculated using the equilibrium molecular dynamics method. It was found the interfacial adsorption nanolayers play a key role during the heat transfer. The tightly packed ethanol molecules act as heat pathways facilitating heat transfer to MIL-101(Cr) particles. Moreover, the addition of MIL-101(Cr) enhances the heat transport of low-frequency diffusive vibrational modes in the range of 0–20 THz within the system.