Nanoscale

2040-33721212020Jan07NanoscaleNanoscaleMultifunctional inorganic nanomaterials for energy applications.144214-4210.1039/c9nr07008gOur society has been facing more and more serious challenges towards achieving highly efficient utilization of energy. In the field of energy applications, multifunctional nanomaterials have been attracting increasing attention. Various energy applications, such as energy generation, conversion, storage, saving and transmission, are strongly dependent upon the electrical, thermal, mechanical, optical and catalytic functions of materials. In the nanoscale range, thermoelectric, piezoelectric, triboelectric, photovoltaic, catalytic and electrochromic materials have made major contributions to various energy applications. Inorganic nanomaterials' unique properties, such as excellent electrical and thermal conductivity, large surface area and chemical stability, make them highly competitive in energy applications. In this review, the latest research and development of multifunctional inorganic nanomaterials in energy applications were summarized from the perspective of different energy applications. Furthermore, we also illustrated the unique functions of inorganic nanomaterials to improve their performances and the combination of the functions of nanomaterials into a device. However, challenges may be traced back to the limitations set by scaling the relations between multifunctional inorganic nanomaterials and energy devices.WangHuilinH0000-0002-5277-4070State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China. dongfeng@ciac.ac.cn and University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.LiangXitongX0000-0002-2398-3850State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China. dongfeng@ciac.ac.cn and University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.WangJiutianJ0000-0001-7866-1691State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China. dongfeng@ciac.ac.cn and University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.JiaoShengjianS0000-0002-6294-0503State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China. dongfeng@ciac.ac.cn and University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.XueDongfengD0000-0002-0748-0962State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China. dongfeng@ciac.ac.cn and University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.engJournal Article20191206