Solar-Rechargeable Energy Conversion/Storage Systems:Overview of 2D Nanomaterials

Energy demand, global warming, and water/air pollution are considered the major challenges facing our current world. These challenges can be attributed to the explosive increase in the world population and the expansion of industrial processes that require unprecedented consumption of fossil fuels. Thus, the paradigm shift to renewable energy is unavoidable. Generation/storage devices can be considered as efficient eco-friendly and sustainable solutions to overcome the current global threats. It is significant to maximize the efficient utilization of permanently accessible solar energy that can be converted/stored in the form of electrical energy. This is aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDGs 7&13 concerning ensuring access to affordable clean energy and combating climate change, respectively. Recently, solar-rechargeable energy systems such as solar cells, solar supercapacitors, and photo-rechargeable batteries have emerged as outstanding alternatives to traditional devices. Owing to their high surface area and tunable optical/electronics properties, 2D semiconductor nanomaterials have demonstrated outstanding performance as photocatalysts and photoactive materials in these hybrid energy generation/storage systems. This chapter aims to provide general insights into the concepts of solar cells, solar supercapacitors, and photo-rechargeable batteries. Furthermore, it will shed light on some examples of recent studies in these potential applications.