Nanofluids mediating surface forces

Fluids containing nanostructures, known as nanofluids, are increasingly found in a wide array of applications due to their unique physical properties as compared with their base fluids and larger colloidal suspensions. With several tuneable parameters such as the size, shape and surface chemistry of nanostructures, as well as numerous base fluids available, nanofluids also offer a new paradigm for mediating surface forces. Other properties such as local surface plasmon resonance and size dependent magnetism of nanostructures also present novel mechanisms for imparting tuneable surface interactions. However, our fundamental understanding, experimentally and theoretically, of how these parameters might affect surface forces remains incomplete. Here we review recent results on equilibrium and dynamic surface forces between macroscopic surfaces in nanofluids. highlighting the overriding trends in the correlation between the physical parameters that characterise nanofluids and the surface forces they mediate. We also discuss the challenges that confront existing surface force knowledge as a result of this new paradigm. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.