NanostructuredmaterialsforadvancedenergyconversionandstoragedevicesNewmaterialsholdthekeytofundamentaladvancesinenergyconversionandstorage,bothofwhicharevitalinordertomeetthechallengeofglobalwarmingandthefinitenatureoffossilfuels.Nanomaterialsinparticularofferuniquepropertiesorcombinationsofpropertiesaselectrodesandelectrolytesinarangeofenergydevices.Thisreviewdescribessomerecentdevelopmentsinthediscoveryofnanoelectrolytesandnanoelectrodesforlithiumbatteries,fuelcellsandsupercapacitors.Theadvantagesanddisadvantagesofthenanoscaleinmaterialsdesignforsuchdevicesarehighlighted.ANTONINOSALVATOREARICÒ1,PETERBRUCE2,BRUNOSCROSATI3*,JEAN-MARIETARASCON4ANDWALTERVANSCHALKWIJK51IstitutoCNR-ITAE,98126S.Lucia,Messina,Italy2SchoolofChemistry,UniversityofStAndrews,KY169ST,Scotland3DipartimentodiChimica,Università‘LaSapienza’,00186Rome,Italy4UniversitédePicardieJulesVerne,LRCS;CNRSUMR-6047,80039Amiens,France5EnergyPlexCorporation,1400SE112thAvenue,Suite210,Bellevue,Washington98004,USA*e-mail:scrosati@uniroma1.itOneofthegreatchallengesinthetwenty-firstcenturyisunquestionablyenergystorage.Inresponsetotheneedsofmodernsocietyandemergingecologicalconcerns,itisnowessentialthatnew,low-costandenvironmentallyfriendlyenergyconversionandstoragesystemsarefound;hencetherapiddevelopmentofresearchinthisfield.Theperformanceofthesedevicesdependsintimatelyonthepropertiesoftheirmaterials.Innovativematerialschemistryliesattheheartoftheadvancesthathavealreadybeenmadeinenergyconversionandstorage,forexampletheintroductionoftherechargeablelithiumbattery.Furtherbreakthroughsinmaterials,notincrementalchanges,holdthekeytonewgenerationsofenergystorageandconversiondevices.Nanostructuredmaterialshaveattractedgreatinterestinrecentyearsbecauseoftheunusualmechanical,electricalandopticalpropertiesendowedbyconfiningthedimensionsofsuchmaterialsandbecauseofthecombinationofbulkandsurfacepropertiestotheoverallbehaviour.Oneneedonlyconsiderthestaggeringdevelopmentsinmicroelectronicstoappreciatethepotentialofmaterialswithreduceddimensions.Nanostructuredmaterialsarebecomingincreasinglyimportantforelectrochemicalenergystorage1,2.Hereweaddressthistopic.Itisimportanttoappreciatetheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofnanomaterialsforenergyconversionandstorage,aswellashowtocontroltheirsynthesisandproperties.Thisisasizeablechallengefacingthoseinvolvedinmaterialsresearchintoenergyconversionandstorage.Itisbeyondthescopeofthisreviewtogiveanexhaustivesummaryoftheenergystorageandconversiondevicesthatmaynoworinthefuturebenefitfromtheuseofnanoparticles;rather,weshalllimitourselvestothefieldsoflithium-basedbatteries,supercapacitorsandfuelcells.Furthermore,fromnowonweshallrefertonanomaterialscomposedofparticlesthatareofnanometredimensionsasprimarynanomaterials,andthoseforwhichtheparticlesaretypicallyofmicrometredimensionsbutinternallyconsistofnanometre-sizedregionsordomainsassecondarynanomaterials.LITHIUMBATTERIESLithium-ionbatteriesareoneofthegreatsuccessesofmodernmaterialselectrochemistry3.Theirscienceandtechnologyhavebeenextensivelyreportedinpreviousreviews4anddedicatedbooks5,6,towhichthereaderisreferredformoredetails.Alithium-ionbatteryconsistsofalithium-ionintercalationnegativeelectrode(generallygraphite),andalithium-ionintercalationpositiveelectrode(generallythelithiummetaloxide,LiCoO2),thesebeingseparatedbyalithium-ionconductingelectrolyte,forexampleasolutionofLiPF6inethylenecarbonate-diethylcarbonate.Althoughsuchbatteriesarecommerciallysuccessful,wearereachingthelimitsinperformanceusingtheREVIEWARTICLE366naturematerials|VOL4|MAY2005|:08:10am13/4/0511:08:10amNaturePublishingGroup©2005REVIEWARTICLEnaturematerials|VOL4|MAY2005|(i)betteraccommodationofthestrainoflithiuminsertion/removal,improvingcyclelife;(ii)newreactionsnotpossiblewithbulkmaterials;(iii)higherelectrode/electrolytecontactarealeadingtohighercharge/dischargerates;(iv)shortpathlengthsforelectronictransport(permittingoperationwithlowelectronicconductivityorathigherpower);and(v)shortpathlengthsforLi+transport(permittingoperationwithlowLi+conductivityorhigherpower).Disadvantagesinclude(i)anincreaseinundesirableelectrode/electrolytereactionsduetohighsurfacearea,leadingtoself-discharge,poorcyclingandcalendarlife;(ii)inferiorpackingofparticlesleadingtolowervolumetricenergydensitiesunlessspecialcompactionmethodsaredeveloped;and(iii)potentiallymorecomplexsynthesis.Withthes