This edited work presents approaches to the fabrication of nanomaterials for energy applications, such as photovoltaics, semiconductors, and thermoelectrics.

Nanoscale materials and structures have attracted great attention in recent years because of their unique physical and chemical properties and potential use in energy transport and conversion. This book puts the subject into context by first looking at current synthesis methods for nanomaterials, from the bottom-up and top-down methods, followed by enhanced energy conversion efficiency at the nanoscale and then specific applications e.g. photovoltaic cells and nanogenerators. This authoritative and comprehensive book will be of interest to both the existing scientific community in this field, as well as for new people who wish to enter it.

Unique in providing an overview of the subject on the scientific level, this book presents the current state of the art with regard to different aspects of sustainable energy production and its efficient storage. The broad scope ranges from nanomaterials for energy production, via fuel cells and nanostructured materials for fuel production, right up to supercapacitors and climate change. Edited by a rising star within the community, this is an invaluable work on a hot topic for materials scientists, solid state, surface and physical chemists, as well as those chemists working in industry and chemical engineers.

With the daunting energy challenges faced by Mankind in the 21st century, revolutionary new technologies will be the key to a clean, secure and sustainable energy future. Nanostructures often have surprising and very useful capabilities and are thus paving the way for new methodologies in almost every kind of industry. This exceptional monograph provides an overview of the subject, and presents the current state of the art with regard to different aspects of sustainable production, efficient storage and low-impact use of energy. Comprised of eighteen chapters, the book is divided in three thematic parts: Part I Sustainable Energy Production covers the main developments of nanotechnology in clean energy production and conversion, including photovoltaics, hydrogen production, thermal-electrical energy conversion and fuel cells. Part II Efficient Energy Storage is concerned with the potential use of nanomaterials in more efficient energy storage systems such as advanced batteries, supercapacitors and hydrogen storage. Part III Energy Sustainability shows how nanotechnology helps to use energy more efficiently, and the mitigation of impacts to the environment, with special emphasis on energy savings through green nanofabrication, advanced catalysis, nanostructured light-emitting and eletrochromic devices and CO2 capture by nanoporous materials . An essential addition to any bookshelf, it will be invaluable to a variety of research fields including materials science, chemical engineering, solid state, surface, industrial, and physical chemistry, as this is a subject that is very interdisciplinary.

The first volume in an exciting new series, Annual Review of Nano Research, this formidable collection of review articles sees renowned contributors from eight different countries tackle the most recent advances in nanofabrication, nanomaterials and nanostructures.The broad coverage of topics in nanotechnology and nanoscience also includes a special focus on the hot topic of biomedical applications of nanomaterials. The important names contributing to the volume include: M R Bockstaller (USA), L Duclaux (France), S Forster (Germany), W Fritzsche (Germany), L Jiang (China), C Lopez (Spain), W J Parak (Germany), B Samori (Italy), U S Schubert (The Netherlands), S Shinkai (Japan), A Stein (USA), S M Hou (China), and Y N Xia (USA).The volume serves both as a handy reference for experts active in the field and as an excellent introduction to scientists whose expertise lies elsewhere but who are interested in learning about this cutting-edge research area.

Dwindling global supplies of conventional energy and materials resources are widely thought to severely constrain, or even render impossible, a "first-world" lifestyle for the bulk of Earth’s inhabitants. This bleak prospect, however, is wrong. Current energy resources are used grotesquely inefficiently as heat ("fuels," after all, are "burned"), so that well over half of the energy is simply dissipated into the environment. In turn, conventional materials resources, particularly of metals, are geologically anomalous deposits that also are typically processed by the prodigious application of raw heat. Simultaneously, rising levels of pollution worldwide are a challenge to remediate as they require the extraction of pollutants at low concentration. Nanotechnology, the structuring of matter at near-molecular scales, offers the prospect of solving all these problems at a stroke. Non-thermal use of energy, in broad emulation of what organisms do already, will not only lead to more efficient use but make practical diffuse sources such as sunlight. Pollution control and resource extraction become two aspects of the same fundamental problem, the low-energy extraction of particular substances from an arbitrary background of other substances, and this also is in emulation of what biosystems carry out already. This book sketches out approaches both for the efficient, non-thermal use of energy and the molecular extraction of solutes, primarily from aqueous solution, for purification, pollution control, and resource extraction. Some long-term implications for resource demand are also noted. In particular, defect-free fabrication at the molecular level is ultimately likely to make structural metals obsolete.

Nanotechnology is a promising technique that can facilitate sustainability across a wide range of areas. By fabricating materials into nanometre-scale, nanotechnology has facilitated an efficient, economically, and environmentally acceptable solution for waste treatment and energy production. This book illustrates how green nanotechnology is being used to promote sustainability, including applications in environmental remediation and energy optimization. First, a comprehensive discussion of the latest advances to address the global challenges in water purification, CO2 management, plastics issue, food waste valorisation, toxic chemical pollutes, and energy efficiency will be provided. This is followed by the new opportunities that have been created in the production of alternative renewable energy under the premise of low natural resource consumption and minuscule toxicity production. Offering an important reference for the research community to understand more about green nanotechnology and its applications in sustainable development and circular economy. The book will be of interest to graduate students and researchers in nanotechnology, materials science, sustainability, environmental science, and energy.