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ZnO Nanostructures for Alternate Energy Generation

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Advances in Communication and Computing

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering ((LNEE,volume 347))

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Abstract

Extensive use of fossil fuel in industries and automobiles has severely polluted the environment, adversely affecting the ecosystem. The fossil fuel reserves are also dwindling, creating a serious concern in the area of energy generation. With rapid advances in nanotechnology, researchers are putting in their efforts to exploit unique properties of nanomaterials to come up with environmentally friendly energy solutions. The abundantly freely available solar energy is undoubtedly the least utilized form of natural energy. Efficient tapping of solar energy can resolve the energy crisis that our world is currently going through. Solar cells developed using nanomaterials, though still at the infancy stage, will be able to harness solar energy quite efficiently and most importantly, will be able to do it very cheaply. Piezoenergy resulting from physical deformation of near-elastic crystals shows promise as energy source for self-powering of low energy consuming devices. This article discusses the possibility of using nanostructures of a very promising material, zinc oxide (ZnO), for energy generation. ZnO is a wide bandgap semiconductor (3.37 eV) and the absence of a central symmetry in its crystal endows it with piezoelectric property. This material has been successfully used for energy generation and tapping schemes like solar cells, hydrogen generators and piezogenerators, among others.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Assam Don Bosco University, Guwahati, 781017, India

    Sunandan Baruah

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  1. Sunandan Baruah
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Correspondence to Sunandan Baruah .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam, India

    Prabin Kumar Bora

  2. Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam, India

    S R Mahadeva Prasanna

  3. Electronics and Communication Technology, Gauhati University, Guwahati, Assam, India

    Kandarpa Kumar Sarma

  4. Electronics & Telecommunication Engg, Assam Engineering College, Guwahati, Assam, India

    Navajit Saikia

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Baruah, S. (2015). ZnO Nanostructures for Alternate Energy Generation. In: Bora, P., Prasanna, S., Sarma, K., Saikia, N. (eds) Advances in Communication and Computing. Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering, vol 347. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-2464-8_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-2464-8_3

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