Nanomaterials’ Synthesis Approaches for Energy Storage and Electronics Applications

Nanomaterials are materials with cross-sectional dimensions varying from one to hundreds of nanometers and lengths ranging from hundreds of nanometers to millimeters. Nanomaterials either occur naturally or can be produced purposefully by performing a specialized function. Until recently, most nanomaterials have been made from carbon (carbon nanotubes), transition metals, and metal oxides such as titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. In a few cases, nanoparticles may exist in the form of nanocrystals comprising a number of compounds, including but not limited to silicon and metals. The discovery of nanomaterials has played a vital role in the emerging field of research and technology. Recently, a large amount of research efforts has been dedicated to developing nanomaterials and their applications, ranging from space to electronics applications. In this chapter, we describe the role of nanoparticles in electronics and energy storage applications, with examples including chips, displays, enhanced batteries, and thermoelectric, gas sensing, lead-free soldering, humidity sensing, and super capacitor devices. The chapter also attempts to provide an exhaustive description of the developed advanced nanomaterials and different conventional and advanced techniques adopted by researchers to synthesize the nanoparticles via bottom-up techniques (pyrolysis, chemical vapor deposition, sol-gel, and biosynthesis) and top-bottom approaches (mechanical milling, nanolithography, laser ablation, and thermal decomposition). 

Keywords: Bottom-up Technique, Bio-synthesis, Carbon Nanotubes, Chemical Vapour Deposition, Electronics Applications, Energy Storage, Graphene, Humidity Sensor, Laser Ablation, Mechanical Milling, Nanolithography, Nanomaterials, Pyrolysis, Sole Gel, Spinning, Sputtering, Super Capacitor, Thermal Deposition, Thermo-electric, Top-down Technique