Nanowire-Enabled Energy Conversion

Abstract

Substantial recent scientific effort has been focused on the development of renewable energy sources, such as solar energy, in order to lower the carbon footprint for energy usage. Semiconductor NWs are attractive candidates for energy conversion materials since their composition, size and other factors that determine basic electronic and optical properties can be synthetically manipulated in complex ways. In this chapter, we discuss representative NW-based structures and devices for energy conversion, particularly focusing on photovoltaic, thermoelectric, and piezoelectric systems that have been used produce energy by converting light, heat, and mechanical sources.