Page 213 - Polymer-based Nanocomposites for Energy and Environmental Applications

P. 213

Polymer-based nanocomposites 6

for energy and environmental
applications

Prabhakarn Arunachalam
King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

6.1 Introduction

Nanotechnology is the indulgent and control of matter at the nanoscale with dimen-
sions approximately within the 1–100 nm range. The capability to switch and manip-
ulate nanostructured materials will sort it probable to utilize new kinds of physical,
biological, and chemical stuffs of methods that are intermediary in size, among single
atoms, molecules, and bulk materials. Currently, increasing nanosized materials have
been validated to reveal precise contact with organic pollutants exists in liquids, gases,
and soils, and such assets give courage for thrilling innovative and enhanced green
technology [1–3]. Renewable energy sources are projected to benefit problems related
to energy shortages and severe environmental related issues affected by the usage of
fossil fuels [4]. One of the substitute energy resources is electrochemical energy pro-
duction. In recent years, the efficient energy management requires an energy reserve,
provided by the electrochemical energy storage system composed of batteries, fuel
cells, and electrochemical capacitors. Particularly, electrochemical capacitors also
called supercapacitors and batteries have gained intense interest as an alternative to
classical energy storage systems. Recently, supercapacitors have appeared as suitable
energy storage system due to their high power density, extended stability, and better
activity than existing energy storage devices [5–7]. The uses for the supercapacitors
range from plug-in hybrid electric vehicles to backup power sources. This type of sys-
tems is created by the suitable grouping of electrode and electrolyte solution. To make
an effective use, we want to progress new, cheaper, eco-friendly, and improved elec-
trode materials. Supercapacitors are energy storage elements with superior energy
density related to conventional capacitors and superior power density related to bat-
teries. Supercapacitors tend to stock energy physically on the electrode surface com-
pared to the chemical reactions in the bulk material in the batteries, which is the vital
factor for their remarkably long cycle life. Supercapacitors are the favored option in
applications demanding a large amount of energy to be stored and delivered in bursts
continually. Further, the main benefit of using supercapacitors over batteries is mainly
from the superior power capacity, power density, and long cycle life. By means of
charge storage mechanism, supercapacitors are of two types: (i) electrochemical
double-layer capacitor (EDLC), which involves the charge accretion at the

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