Abstract
The average temperature of the earth is rising at an alarming rate. The rising symptoms of global warming led us to a situation where we have to find out an alternative way for energy harvesting without disconcerting the homeostasis of nature. Therefore, finding renewable and clean energy sources has become one of the foremost challenges of modern societies. Polymer composites have found considerable attention in energy harvesting, especially for but not limited to organic solar cells, transducers and energy storage applications. For example, poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) have proven among the best combination for organic solar cell application and have persisted prominent for a decade. Being a semicrystalline polymer, P3HT is well known as a donor material with a wide absorption range of the solar spectrum and comparable high conductivity. Similarly, poly(gamma-benzyl-L-glutamate) (PBLG) was found out to be an excellent choice in flexible transducer applications because of its stability and high piezoelectric coefficients. Finally, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) was proved to be an ideal polymeric material for energy storage applications because of its highly effective insulating properties. In this chapter, we review the recent progress in the field of energy harvesting and storage materials such as P3HT, PBLG and PMMA and their role in maximizing the efficiency of energy devices.