Functionalized nanomaterials for electronics and electrical and energy industries

Abstract Nanotechnology associated with particles with nanoscale dimension (typically less than 100 nanometers) exhibit completely different and tempting physicochemical, optical, mechanical, and electromagnetic property from the bulk material from which they are made. Incorporating a large surface area, nanomaterials are prone to be affected by environmental changes, which can decrease their stability as well as their performance. To enlarge the field of application, the functionalization of nanomaterials has been introduced. Surface modification mainly tunes the interaction of the surface entities to overcome major limitations such as inertness, low solubility, and agglomeration in specific solvents. Depending on the application, different functional groups can be introduced on the surface of nanomaterials through covalent or noncovalent bonding to create functionalized nanomaterials with enhanced optical, mechanical, thermophysical, adsorption, and electrical properties in comparison to their parent materials. Thus advanced functionalization techniques of nanomaterials are very beneficial in different industrial applications because of improved production limits, cost reduction, simplification in the procedure, better precision, and sensitivity. A variety of investigations have been carried out on the functionalization of nanomaterials including metal, nonmetal, semiconductor, alloy, and metal oxides for integration into electronics and energy-related products. In this chapter, we discuss recent developments in various electronic, electrical, and energy industries using different types of functionalized nanomaterials. In addition, to review the industrial applications of functionalized nanomaterials we focus on current needs, development status, future scopes, and limitations of this technology through both experimental and theoretical aspects.