Chapter 22 - Nanocrystals for electrochemical energy storage devices

Abstract

Energy storage systems are a driving force for the continuity of energy supply in intermittent renewable sources (solar, wind, etc.) that also conduct the decarbonization of the energy economy globally. The demand for energy supply that has arisen owing to unpredictable daily or seasonal variations can be tackled with the support of energy storage systems. Equally important is the need to provide for both the energy production and energy storage sectors. The exploration of prospective materials to prototype energy storage devices remain challenging. A huge volume of novel materials have been developed and introduced into the energy market, the need remains to explore new materials at the nanoscale and to fabricate new types of devices. Nanocrystals are viable materials for electrochemical energy storage devices such as supercapacitors, ion capacitors, and batteries. Some nanocrystals deliver performance nearly equivalent to that of conventional energy storage materials. This chapter emphasizes the potential use of different nanocrystals including semiorganic (perovskite), organic, and inorganic (chalcogenides) for electrochemical energy storage devices. Insight into how these materials (nanocrystals) facilitate the charge transfer mechanism of energy (electrochemical) storage systems is discussed in detail. Finally, an extensive discussion is offered on the effects of the size and shape of nanocrystals in energy storage systems.