Nanocellulose based functional materials for supercapacitor applications

Abstract

Environmental protection and renewable sources for energy conversion and storage remain an important topic nowadays. Major challenges of the 21st century that mankind has to face are certainly energy supply, its storage and conversion in a way that essentially protect the environment. In this scenario the nanocellulose has come up as a sustainable and promising nanomaterial with its unique structure and remarkable properties, such as high specific modulus, excellent stability in most solvents, low toxicity and natural abundance. Its ecofriendly nature, low cost, easy availability and simple synthesis techniques render the nanocellulose as a promising candidate for the fabrication of green renewable energy storage devices. Herein, we present a comprehensive review of the current research activities that focus on the development of nanocellulose materials for energy storage applications, particularly on supercapacitors. To begin with, we give a brief introduction on the necessity of ecofriendly approaches towards the development of supercapacitors that make use of nanocellulose. We then focus on various investigations that have been carried out to fabricate supercapacitors based on nanocellulose or its composites. Finally, we describe our outlook on several issues that warrant further investigations in this topic with immense potentials. Keywords: Nanocellulose, Supercapacitor