Applications of Nanotechnology in the Harvesting of Solar Energy

Since the components and devices being developed have dimensions smaller than 100 nm, they offer new ways to capture, store, and convert energy. Accordingly, nanotechnology provides a wide range of resources as a powerful technology to solve energy-related problems. The sun emits a large amount of energy every day, which is produced through the nuclear fusion process. It has been pointed out that the technical potential of solar energy worldwide is several times greater than the total primary energy currently needed. In this research, solar harvesting technology with the assistance of nanomaterials has been investigated. Various types of modern solar harvesting technologies that use nanomaterials efficiently and successfully are discussed. Fuel cells, solar photovoltaics, solar energy collectors, and photocatalysts can be mentioned among solar energy harvesting systems that use nanomaterials to raise efficiency. Manufacturing methods of solar cell technologies are also discussed here. At the end of this chapter, some challenges in the use of nanotechnology have been described in detail.