Nanocomposite Ceramics for Energy Harvesting

A nanocomposite material is composed of a number of phases, each of which has at least one, two, or three dimensions that are in the nanoscale regime. As the dimensions of a material are reduced to the nanoscale size, phase interfaces are created which are crucial for improving the characteristics of materials. The structure and property of nanocomposite ceramics directly depend on the ratio of reinforced material volume to surface area employed in the creation of nanocomposites. In the field of medical, pharmaceutical, food packaging, electronics, and energy industries, nanocomposites provide possibilities on entirely new dimensions. Additionally, ceramic nanocomposites can be broadly classified as either a nanophase ceramic in a ceramic matrix, a ceramic matrix carbonaceous nanophase, or as a ceramic matrix with metal as the additional component. Oxides, carbides, and nitrides combined with metallic and non-metallic components produce ceramic nanocomposites. The ceramic nanocomposites have been widely used in a number of applications in electronics and structural components because of their better mechanical, electrical, and magnetic properties. Developing innovative processing methods that allow for the fabrication of products ranging from laboratory research to commercial level is increasingly using ceramic nanocomposites. Nowadays, the ceramic nanocomposite is widely used in electrochemical devices as an electrode or electrolyte for energy conversion or storage purpose. This chapter describes the key concepts behind nanocomposite ceramics and explores various classes of nanocomposite ceramics. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a basic introduction to nanocomposites, their types, material fabrication technique that is most appropriate for the preparation and processing of nanocomposites ceramics, physical properties, applications, benefits, and flaws of these nanocomposites and their uses in energy harvesting.