Preface

In today's modern world, nanostructure materials can be designed and grown successfully in the laboratory with the advent of new synthesis methods. Years of scientific efforts have shown that nanostructure materials are rising as the modern tools of technology and development. Nanostructure materials are one such exceptional class of modern materials that have attracted tremendous curiosity among researchers around the world due to their potential in technology. A nanostructure is a structure of intermediate size between microscopic and molecular structures. In describing nanostructures, it is necessary to differentiate between the numbers of dimensions in the volume of an object, which are on the nanoscale. Additionally, nanostructure materials, by virtue of their unique physical and chemical properties such as thermal stability, chemical resistance, hardness, large surface area and porosity, electron transfer capacity, conductance and impedance, have become remarkably useful in a wide range of applications. In short, nanostructure materials are worthy of being applied practically and efficiently as smart functional materials in several developmental areas including but not limited to industrial process-control, environmental remedies, semiconductors, and energy devices.

This book is designed to highlight the importance, functionality, and applicability of nanostructure materials. The chapters in this book offer clear information on the recent advances in the synthesis, characterization, and application of these materials to energy conversion such as perovskite solar cells, dye sensitized solar cells, and sensors. We hope this book will help describe the current position of nanostructure materials in the technological sphere as well as encourage scientists and engineers in deeper exploration of these materials to boost the technological advancement. Written by an outstanding group of experts in the field, this book presents an exciting and fresh compilation of the latest advances and developments in nanostructure materials. As a result, the highly interdisciplinary nature of this book would be of profound interest for a broad audience, including academic and industrial researchers. It can also be used in the classroom for graduate students focusing on chemical engineering, surface and interface science, adsorption science and technology, zeolite science, and nanostructure materials science. We believe that this book will also be valuable to many entrepreneurial and business people who are in the process of trying to better understand and valuate nanotechnology and novel nanostructure materials for future high-tech emerging applications and disrupting industries. To keep the length of the book manageable, we have limited the discussion to nanostructure materials; however, we have tried to encompass as many related details as possible. We would like to thank all the authors who contributed to this book with their knowledge, efforts, and time. We are also grateful to the copyright owners, and IntechOpen for their support in publishing and making this book a reality.
