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Energy Harvesting: Breakthrough Technologies Through Polymer Composites

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Smart Polymer Nanocomposites

Part of the book series: Springer Series on Polymer and Composite Materials ((SSPCM))

Abstract

Polymer composites have been extensively studied in the last few years toward application in solar-, thermoelectric-, and vibration-based energy harvesting technologies. Of late, polymer nanocomposites are being investigated successfully in hybrid organic–inorganic devices, in bulk heterojunction devices incorporating all flavors of solar cells, and through the perovskite structures. In the thermoelectric power generation arena, abundance of raw materials, lack of toxicity, and the feasibility for large-area applications are all advantages that polymer nanocomposites boast over their inorganic predecessors. Within the vibration-based energy systems, polymer nanocomposites are being used as the magnets within the harvester devices; they offer low rigidity and easy processing (spin coating, drop casting, and molding). Also, recent work has focused on utilizing polymer ceramic nanocomposites as electrostatic energy storage materials. Lastly, polymer-based piezoelectric materials can be used directly as an active material in different transduction applications.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Portland Community College, Cascade Campus, PO Box 19000, Portland, OR, 97229, USA

    Saquib Ahmed

  2. Mechanical Engineering, California State University, Fresno, CA, 93740, USA

    Sankha Banerjee, Hector Ruiz, Sanjeev Kumar & Ajith Weerasinghe

  3. Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

    Udhay Sundar

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  1. Saquib Ahmed
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  2. Sankha Banerjee
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  3. Udhay Sundar
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  4. Hector Ruiz
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  5. Sanjeev Kumar
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  6. Ajith Weerasinghe
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  1. Qatar University, Doha, Qatar

    Deepalekshmi Ponnamma

  2. Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar

    Kishor Kumar Sadasivuni

  3. Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar

    John-John Cabibihan

  4. Center for Advanced Materials, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar

    Mariam Al-Ali Al-Maadeed

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Ahmed, S., Banerjee, S., Sundar, U., Ruiz, H., Kumar, S., Weerasinghe, A. (2017). Energy Harvesting: Breakthrough Technologies Through Polymer Composites. In: Ponnamma, D., Sadasivuni, K., Cabibihan, JJ., Al-Maadeed, MA. (eds) Smart Polymer Nanocomposites. Springer Series on Polymer and Composite Materials. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50424-7_1

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