Carbon Nanomaterials for Energy Applications: Energy Storage and Conversion

Abstract

The major reasons for the energy crisis that the world is facing today are the limited availability of fossil fuels and exponential population growth. To overcome this crisis, nanotechnology has led to the development of new materials, particularly carbon nanomaterials, that are efficient in converting and storing energy. In comparison with conventional energy materials, carbon nanomaterials offer unique size/surface-dependent properties that can enhance energy conversion and storage performances. Due to their unique properties, carbon nanomaterials, including fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and graphene, have culminated in their utility as energy materials and have made tremendous progress in developing high-performance energy conversion (solar cells and fuel cells) and storage (supercapacitors and batteries) devices. This chapter describes the use of carbon nanotubes, graphene, fullerenes, and N-doped carbon nanomaterials in energy conversion and energy storage and explains how their remarkable properties can enhance the efficiency of solar cells and fuel cells and energy storage in supercapacitors and batteries.