ENERGY STORAGE AND HARVESTING TECHNOLOGIES USING NANOMATERIALS

The global transition toward sustainable energy systems has intensified interest in nanomaterials for efficient energy storage and harvesting. This chapter reviews recent progress in nanostructured materials that enhance electrochemical, thermal, and photonic energy conversion processes. In batteries and supercapacitors, nanoscale design through graphene, silicon nanowires, and transition metal oxides enables high energy and power densities, rapid charge–discharge kinetics, and long-term stability. Similarly, nanomaterials revolutionise thermoelectric, piezoelectric, and triboelectric systems by improving charge transport, phonon scattering, and mechanical flexibility, while perovskite and quantum dot solar cells exploit quantum confinement and tunable bandgaps for superior photovoltaic performance. Hybrid energy platforms that integrate multiple nanomaterial-based mechanisms, such as battery–supercapacitor or solar–thermoelectric systems, demonstrate multifunctionality, flexibility, and self-powering capabilities vital for wearable and autonomous devices. The chapter also highlights scalable fabrication approaches, eco-friendly synthesis, and the emerging use of biodegradable and self-healing nanocomposites. Together, these advances position nanomaterials as the cornerstone of next-generation energy technologies, offering pathways toward high-performance, sustainable, and adaptive power solutions aligned with the global clean energy agenda