This new volume discusses new and well-known electrochemical energy harvesting, conversion, and storage techniques. It provides significant insight into the current progress being made in this field and suggests plausible solutions to the future energy crisis along with approaches to mitigate environmental degradation caused by energy generation, production, and storage. Topics in Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems for Future Sustainability: Technological Advancements address photoelectrochemical catalysis by ZnO, hydrogen oxidation reaction for fuel cell application, and miniaturized energy storage devices in the form of micro-supercapacitors. The volume looks at the underlying mechanisms and acquired first-hand information on how to overcome some of the critical bottlenecks to achieve long-term and reliable energy solutions. The detailed synthesis processes that have been tried and tested over time through rigorous attempts of many researchers can help in selecting the most effective and economical ways to achieve maximum output and efficiency, without going through time-consuming and complex steps. The theoretical analyses and computational results corroborate the experimental findings for better and reliable energy solutions.

This book covers the recent development of metal oxides, hydroxides and their carbon composites for electrochemical oxidation of water in the production of hydrogen and oxygen as fuels. It includes a detailed discussion on synthesis methodologies for the metal oxides/hydroxides, structural/morphological characterizations, and the key parameters (Tafel plot, Turnover frequency, Faradic efficiency, overpotential, long cycle life etc.) needed to evaluate the electrocatalytic activity of the materials. Additionally, the mechanism behind the electro oxidation process is presented. Readers will find a comprehensive source on the close correlation between metal oxides, hydroxides, composites, and their properties and importance in the generation of hydrogen and oxygen from water. The depletion of fossil fuels from the earth's crust, and related environmental issues such as climate change, demand that we search for alternative energy resources to achieve some form of sustainable future. In this regard, much scientific research has been devoted to technologies such as solar cells, wind turbines, fuel cells etc. Among them fuel cells attract much attention because of their versatility and efficiency. In fuel cells, different fuels such as hydrogen, CO2, alcohols, acids, methane, oxygen/air, etc. are used as the fuel, and catalysts are employed to produce a chemical reaction for generating electricity. Hence, it is very important to produce these fuels in an efficient, eco-friendly, and cost effective manner. The electrochemical splitting of water is an environmentally friendly process to produce hydrogen (the greener fuel used in fuel cells), but the efficiencies of these hydrogen evolution reactions (cathodic half reaction) are strongly dependent on the anodic half reaction (oxygen evolution reaction), i.e., the better the anodic half, the better will be the cathodic reaction. Further, this oxygen evolution reaction depends on the types of active electrocatalysts used. Though many more synthetic approaches have been explored and different electrocatalysts developed, oxide and hydroxide-based nanomaterials and composites (with graphene, carbon nanotubes etc.) show better performance. This may be due to the availability of more catalytic surface area and electro active centers to carry out the catalysis process.

The rapid developments in nanostructured materials and nanotechnology will have a profound impact in many areas of biomedical applications including delivery of drugs and biomolecules, tissue engineering, detection of biomarkers, cancer diagnosis, cancer therapy, and imaging. This field is expanding fast, and a lot of work is in progress in terms of design, characterisation, synthesis, and application of materials, for controlling shape and size at nanometer scale to develop highly advanced materials for biomedical application and even to design better pharmaceutical products. In recent years, specific attempts have been made to acquire multi-functional nanostructures that could possibly solve the plethora of issues and voids often encountered in both medicinal and biological researches. This book, comprising six chapters, emphasises the practical implementation of few well-known as well as advanced nanostructured materials for the betterment of human health and diagnostic tools. Each chapter emphasises a single aspect of the nanostructures in broader context, providing a brief history, current status, and emerging trends in the same field. In Chapter 1, authors have provided a detailed account of the implementation of nanostructures in the sensing of several key biomolecules, which can detect the well-being of both internal and external structures of the human body. Chapter 2 presents a brief analysis of the current therapeutics focusing on their viability and shortcomings, and addressing the same through the implementation of nanotechnology. Chapter 3 encompasses the challenges in the field of cell-imaging and detection of biomarkers. Authors have provided a vivid explanation regarding the solution of such challenges through designing and functionalisation of several metallic nanoparticles including quantum dots. In Chapter 4, a brief account of the application of nanostructures in the area of tissue engineering and magnetic resonance imaging has been discussed. In Chapter 5, nanomedicines have been introduced by the authors as an advanced diagnostic and therapeutic option as compared to the traditionally available solutions for oral cancer treatment. Finally, Chapter 6 discusses the application of nanotechnology (both organic and inorganic nanoparticles) in restorative dentistry. Also, possible biocompatibility and toxicity of the nanostructures have been discussed so as to streamline the process of selection of suitable tooth implants and oral cleansing techniques.

Rapid growth in the research and development of clean energy storage techniques has yielded a significant number of electrochemically active compounds/materials possessing enormous potential to facilitate the fabrication of next generation devices such as the supercapacitor. This Brief describes recent progress in the field of metal-ion based hybrid electrical energy storage devices, with emphasis on the effect of different metal ions and other constituent components on the overall electrochemical performance of battery-supercapacitor hybrids (BSHs). Although significant efforts have been made to create an effective electrical energy storage system that would have the energy density of a battery and the power density of a supercapacitor, persistent challenges still lie in combining these two altogether different systems to form a cost-effective and safe storage device. Detailed comparisons of output performance and longevity (in terms of cyclic stability) are provided, including device fabrication cost and safety. Of the several proposed schematics/prototypes, hybrid supercapacitors, with both carbon-based EDLC electrode and pure faradic (battery type) electrode can work in tandem to yield high energy densities with little degradation in specific power. As a promising electric energy storage device, supercapacitors address several critical issues in various fields of applications from miniaturized electronic devices and wearable electronics to power hungry heavy automobiles. Depending on the electrode configuration and other controlling parameters, these BSHs can have contrasting performance statistics. Metal ion BSHs such as Li+, Na+, Mg+2, Zn+2 etc., acid-alkaline BSHs, and redox electrolyte based BSHs all represent recent approaches, with BSHs based on metal ions, particularly Lithium, of particular interest because of the extreme popularity of Li-ion based batteries. This book is written for a broad readership of graduate students and academic and industrial researchers who are concerned with the growth and development of sustainable energy systems where efficient and cost-effective storage is key.