Recent Trends in Nanomaterials for Sustainable Energy

Abstract

The consumption of energy in any form is inevitable in the present era, and is growing. Currently, most energy resources come from fossil fuels. However, the alarming situation of global warming has attracted increasing attention to the development of renewable energy resources. The future of energy is completely in the hands of green energy resources. Hydrogen fuel cells are one of the focus areas of green energy generation with zero emission. Energy storage must be low cost, be small in size, and have a higher storage capacity. Developments in the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology are creating a more reliable pathway toward energy generation and storage. The unique characteristic of nanomaterials can control the dimensionality of materials (e.g., zero-, one-, two-, and three-dimensional), morphology, and composite formation, through which the desired electrical, electronic, and storage properties of materials can be achieved. This chapter provides a brief outline of the current state of energy and recent developments in fuel cells, batteries, and supercapacitors with the aid of nanotechnology.