Ezekiel Izudike Odimgbe1, Micheal Abimbola Oladosu2, Moses Adondua Abah3, Joseph Ezeani4, Alaba Oladapo Gbadebo5 and Chigozirim Steve Amadi6

 1Department of Healthcare Administration and Risk Management, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ohio Dominican University, Ohio-USA

2Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Anchor University, Lagos, Nigeria.

3Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, Federal University of Wukari, Wukari, Taraba State, Nigeria

4Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Toledo, Toledo, United States.

5Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Faculty of Public Health, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.

6Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.

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Received: Apr 29, 2026/ Revised: May 28 2026/Accepted: June 2, 2026

Highlights

  • Reviews advances in nanomaterials for sustainable energy conversion and storage technologies.
  • Examines design strategies including heterojunction engineering, nanocomposites, and green synthesis.
  • Highlights applications in photovoltaics, batteries, supercapacitors, and photocatalytic hydrogen production.
  • Evaluates performance improvements achieved with MXenes, graphene, quantum dots, and perovskite nanomaterials.
  • Discusses environmental impacts, scalability challenges, and sustainable nanomaterial development.

Abstract

Nanomaterials occupy a pivotal position at the intersection of chemistry and sustainable energy, offering tuneable physicochemical properties that can be leveraged to overcome longstanding efficiency and stability barriers in solar energy conversion, electrochemical storage, and photocatalytic fuel production. This review critically examines recent advances (2020–2025) in the design, synthesis, and performance of key nanomaterial families, including metal oxide nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, graphene derivatives, MXenes, quantum dots, and perovskite nanocrystals, applied to photovoltaics, supercapacitors, lithium-ion batteries, dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSCs), and photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. We systematically evaluate design strategies encompassing heterojunction engineering, surface passivation, plasmonic enhancement, nanocomposite hybridisation, and green synthesis routes. Performance benchmarks demonstrate power conversion efficiencies exceeding 27% in single-junction perovskite solar cells and specific capacitances surpassing 800 F g⁻¹ in MXene-based supercapacitors. Crucially, we address the environmental footprint of these technologies, encompassing ecotoxicological profiles, lifecycle considerations, and safer-by-design principles aligned with global sustainability mandates. Regulatory gaps, scalability challenges, and future research directions integrating machine learning-assisted nanomaterial design are identified. This review serves as a comprehensive resource for chemists, materials scientists, and energy engineers advancing the transition to a low-carbon energy paradigm.

Keywords: nanomaterials; sustainable energy; perovskite solar cells; MXene supercapacitors; photocatalysis; ecotoxicology; green synthesis

How to cite this article

Odimgbe, E. I., Oladosu, M. A., Abah, M. A., Ezeani, J., Gbadebo, A. O., & Amadi, C. S. (2026). Advances in nanomaterials for chemistry-based sustainable energy technologies: Design strategies, performance and environmental considerations: Review article. Science Archives, 7(2), 163–172. https://doi.org/10.47587/SA.2026.7215

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