A pioneering idea for increasing the thermal performance of heat transfer fluids was to use ultrafine solid particles suspended in the base fluid. Nanofluids, synthesized by mixing solid nanometer sized particles at low concentrations with the base fluid, were used as a new heat transfer fluid and developed a remarkable effect on the thermophysical properties and heat transfer coefficient. For any nanofluid to be usable in heat transfer applications, the main concern is its long-term stability. The aim of this research is to investigate the effect of using four different surfactants (sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), and gum Arabic (GA)), each with three different concentrations, and five ultrasonication times (15, 30, 60, 90, and 120 min) on the stability of water-based graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) nanofluids. In addition, the viscosity and thermal conductivity of the highest stability samples were measured at different temperatures. For this aim, nineteen different nanofluids with 0.1 wt% concentration of GNPs were prepared via the two-step method. An ultrasonication probe was utilized to disperse the GNPs in distilled water. UV–vis spectrometry, zeta potential, average particle size, and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) were helpful in evaluating the stability and characterizing the prepared nanofluids. TEM and zeta potential results were in agreement with the UV–vis measurements. The highest nanofluid stability was obtained at 60-min ultrasonication time. The prepared water-based pristine GNPs nanofluids were not stable, and the stability was improved with the addition of surfactants. The presence of SDBS, SDS, and CTAB surfactants in the nanofluids resulted in excessive foam. The best water-based GNPs nanofluid was selected in terms of better stability, higher thermal conductivity, and lower viscosity. From all the samples that were prepared in this research, the (1–1) SDBS–GNPs sample with 60-min ultrasonication showed the highest stability (82% relative concentration after 60 days), the second better enhancement in the thermal conductivity of the base fluid (8.36%), and nearly the lowest viscosity (7.4% higher than distilled water).
