Nanomaterials for Energy Harvesting and Storage

Abstract

The possibility of both energy and environmental crisis that may arise due to use of fossil fuels has resulted in intense research activities in the past decade on the development of technologies for harvesting and storage of energy from renewable sources. In order to meet the energy requirements for an ever-increasing population, there is a need for high performance electrochemical energy harvesting as well as storage devices. Nanomaterials and nanocomposites with diverse composition, structure, and morphologies have been applied in various energy related applications ranging from photocatalytic hydrogen generation, solar electricity generation, electric energy storage by lithium ion batteries and supercapacitors, hydrogen storage systems, etc. The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of the recent developments in the technological advancements brought about by the use of nanotechnology in energy harvesting and storage appliances with specific focus on dye sensitized solar cells for electricity generation, lithium ion batteries, and supercapacitors for energy storage.