Nanofluids that contain nanoparticles with excellent heat transfer characteristics dispersed in a continuous liquid phase are expected to exhibit superior thermal and fluid characteristics to those in a single liquid phase primarily because of their much greater collision frequency and larger contact surface between solid nanoparticles and the liquid phase. One of the major challenges in the use of nanofluids to dissipate the heat generated in electronic equipment such as LEDs is nanoparticles' precipitation due to their poor suspension in the fluid after periods of storage or operation, thereby leading to deterioration in the nanofluids' heat transfer rate. In this study, ultrasonic vibration was employed to prepare Al2O3 nanofluids with a surfactant, a dispersant, and a combination of the two to evaluate their suspension and heat transfer characteristics. The experimental results show the Al2O3 nanofluid prepared with a non-ionic surfactant with a hydrophile lipophile balance (HLB) value of 12 to have the lowest nanoparticle precipitation rate and, accordingly, the highest degree of emulsification stability. Moreover, the nanofluids prepared with both the dispersant and surfactant had the greatest dynamic viscosity and lowest degree of thermal conductivity. Both the precipitation rate and dynamic viscosity of the nanoparticles increased, and their thermal conductivity coefficient decreased, the longer they remained in the Al2O3 nanofluids. Further, an increase in operating temperature caused an increase in the thermal conductivity coefficients of all of the Al2O3 nanofluids considered. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.