In this study, an experimental investigation was conducted from a thermal performance standpoint on closed-loop pulsating heat pipes (CLPHPs) with four different fluids and their water-based binary mixtures as working fluids with volume mixing ratios of 3:1, 1:1, and 1:3. Ethanol and acetone as two types of fluids that are soluble in water and, to unprecedentedly compare the behavior of insoluble mixtures with the soluble ones as the working fluids, toluene and hexane as two types that are insoluble in water were used. Additionally, to predict the thermal performance of the pure, soluble binary, and insoluble binary fluids simultaneously for the first time, a correlation was derived. © 2018 Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature