# Polyethylene Glycol Nanocolloids as Advanced Phase Change Materials for Sustainable Energy: Experimental Data on Viscosity, Density, and Isobaric Heat Capacity

**Authors:** Cătălin Andrei Ţugui, Nicoleta Cojocariu, Bogdan Pricop, Dana Bejan, Alina Adriana Minea

PMC · DOI: 10.3390/polym18060673 · Polymers · 2026-03-10

## TL;DR

This paper studies PEG-based nanocolloids as potential sustainable heat transfer fluids, measuring their density, viscosity, and heat capacity under different conditions.

## Contribution

The paper provides new experimental data on PEG-based nanocolloids, highlighting their thermal properties and operational limitations.

## Key findings

- Nanocolloid density increases moderately with nanoparticle addition and temperature.
- Viscosity increases with MWCNT concentration and decreases with temperature.
- Isobaric heat capacity increases with nanoparticle addition.

## Abstract

Polyethylene glycols (PEGs) are emerging as superior and accessible phase change materials and heat transfer fluids, offering improved thermal properties over conventional thermal oils to meet the demand for innovative, sustainable energy solutions. While general research on PEG performance is still scarce, this paper contributes relevant experimental data. As part of a broad investigation into PEG and PEG-based nanocolloids, this experiment helps to clarify the true potential of these new fluids by outlining both their key advantages and their operational limitations. Consequently, PEG 200 and two PEG 200 + PEG 400 mixtures were considered as base fluids for manufacturing MWCNT nanocolloids, resulting in 15 samples that were thoroughly investigated in terms of density, viscosity and isobaric heat capacity variation with both nanoparticle concentration and temperature. Results revealed that nanocolloid density follows the basic rules for nanoparticle-enhanced fluids, with moderate increase with nanoparticle addition and temperature. Viscosity increased with MWCNT concentration and decreased with temperature, while isobaric heat capacity upsurges with nanoparticle addition. These findings are critical, as they can shed some light into the practical benefits, while clearly explaining the potential drawbacks, of employing these novel fluids in heat transfer applications.

## Full-text entities

- **Chemicals:** MWCNT (-), PEG (MESH:D011092), oils (MESH:D009821)

## Full text

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## Figures

15 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC13030308/full.md

## References

35 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC13030308/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC13030308