Chapter 4 - Carbon nanostructures for energy generation and storage

Abstract

The ever-increasing demand for energy is one of the precarious subjects tackled by society in this epoch. Substantial combustion of fossil fuels has headed to severe environmental pollution. This has prompted researchers to investigate methods for clean and renewable energy production and storage. The hydrogen economy is considered one of the most promising in this regard and hence the effectual production of hydrogen is essential. Fuel cells are being used in the transport sector, however, there is a requisite to improve their effectiveness. With the advent of nanomaterials and their efficient utilization, now green energy production and storage are at the verge of commercial use. Among the wide variety of nanomaterials used at this juncture, carbon nanomaterials play a momentous role. This chapter focuses on the role of carbon nanomaterials in clean energy generation and storage technologies. Emphasis is given to hydrogen production through water splitting, fuel cells, giving focus to direct methanol fuel cells and enzymatic fuel cells, and supercapacitor-a charge storage device.