Nanocarbon-Polymer/Nanocarbon Composites: Energy Storage and Conversion

Global energy consumption is anticipated to be triple of its present level by 2050. Nanotechnology has created new pathways for materials science and engineering to address this problem by creating innovative materials—most notably carbon nanoparticles—for effective energy conversion and storage. Carbon nanoparticles have special size- and surface-dependent features that can improve energy conversion and storage capabilities when compared to traditional energy materials. As a result, tremendous efforts have been made in the last several years or so to use the unique properties of carbon nanostructures as energy sources, including fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and graphene, and because of this, significant progress has been made in the creation of high-performance energy conversion and storage devices, such as supercapacitors and batteries, as well as solar cells and fuel cells. This chapter discusses the challenges and future prospects in this fascinating field as well as the advancements made in the last 20 years or more in the study and production of carbon nanomaterials for enhanced energy conversion and storage.