The Regulating Role of Nano-SiO2 Potential in the Thermophysical Properties of NaNO3-KNO3

Molten salt, as a phase change heat storage material, can be used to mitigate the volatility of clean energy. Increasing the specific heat of molten salts can help to increase heat storage density and reduce costs. In this study, nanoparticles with different potentials were prepared and doped into Solar Salt (NaNO3-KNO3). The modification results of the nanoparticles were evaluated by transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy, and the modification process was analyzed by density functional theory. The specific heat, thermal diffusion coefficient, melting point, latent heat of the composites and their variation mechanism were analyzed using synchronized thermal analyzer, laser flash analyzer and scanning electron microscope. It was found that acidification was able to modify the SiO2 nanoparticles and that the higher the acidity, the more the negative charge of the nanoparticles was neutralised. A 25.8% decrease in zeta potential to −23.17 mV was observed for the nano-SiO2 after treatment with HCl at pH 1, compared to the non-acidified sample. The microelectric field generated by the charged nanoparticles affects the thermophysical properties such as the specific heat of the molten salt-nanoparticle composites, with one of the samples having the largest specific heat (1.79 J/(g·K)) and thermal diffusion coefficient (0.94 mm2/s), which were increased by 13.3% and 14.6%, respectively, compared to the Solar Salt. This study attributes the alterations in thermophysical properties to the variation in ion separation distance induced by the charge on nanoparticles.