Sincethebeginningofthe20thcentury,therehavebeengreatimprovementsinthedailylifeofhumanthroughtheuseofpetroleumasabasicmaterial.However,wenowfacetheproblemofpetroleumsupplyanddepletion.Meanwhile,globalwarming,themostthreateningproblem,stimulatestheresearchtowardsalternativefuelsourcesusingeco-andrenewableenergytypicallysuchassolarenergy.Materialtechnologyplaysaparticularlyimportantroleinthefieldofenergy.Rapiddepletionoffossilfuelsandgrowingenvironmentalconcernsmakeenergyoneofthegreatestchallengesfacinghumankindinthe21stcentury.Weneedsustainableenergyproductionandefficientlyusenaturalenergytomeetsocio-economicandenvironmentaltargets.Tocovervarioustopicsinsuchaninterdisciplinaryarea,itishightimetoprovidetimelyreviewofanumberofimportantdevelopmentsinthisfield.
Thescienceofenergy-harvestingmaterialsisexperiencingphenomenalgrowthandattractinghugeinterest.Eco-andRenewableEnergyMaterialsshowcasesthebasicprincipleandthelatestdevelopmentsofthematerialstechnologies,whicharerelatedtopreventglobalwarmingandsecureenergyresourcesfromtheviewpointofmaterialsscience.Chapter1byChenghuiLiprovidesaconciseoverviewofthedevelopmentofsiliconbasedphotovoltaicmaterials.
Withtheconsiderationoftheuniquenessofperylenes,ChenLiandKlausMulleninChapter2reviewthedevelopmentofperylenesinorganicphotovoltaics.JianguoLiuetalillustratecarboncorrosionintheelectrocatalystsofpolymerelectrolytemembranefuelcellinChapter3.Chapter4byTingyueGuandcoworkerssummarizesvariousrecentadvancesinbio-fuelcellresearchusingvariousbiomassfeedstocks.YonggangWangetalinChapter5surveynewprogressinusingnanostructuredmaterialsascathodesandanodestodeveloplithium-ionbatterieswithhighenergydensity,highratecapability,andexcellentcyclingstability.InChapter6,DechunZouetalsummarizetheupdatedfabricationanddevelopmentoffiexiblesolarcells.Chapter7byZhaoshengLiandcoworkersintroducehistoryandoperatingprinciplesofthephotoelectrochemicalcellforhydrogengeneration.InChapter8,HuantingWangetaldescribetheapplicationofmetal-organicframeworkstoCO2capture.TheyalsoreviewinChapter9recentactivitiesinthedevelopmentofCO2selectiveseparationmembranes,focusingonthefabricationandseparationperformanceofcurrentpolymericmembranesandtheirmodification,inorganicmembranesandmixed-matrixmembranes.