1. Progress in Advanced Ceramics: Energy and Environmental Perspective 2. Advanced Nanostructured Perovskite Oxides: Synthesis, Physical Properties, Structural Characterizations and Functional Applications 3. Nanostructured Metal Oxides for Hybrid Supercapacitors 4. Nanocontainers to Increase the Absorption of Energy and Heat Conversion 5. Nanostructured Oxide Based Ceramic Materials for Light and Mechanical Energy Harvesting Applications 6. Titanium Oxide-Based Noble Metal-Free Core-Shell Photocatalysts for Hydrogen Production 7. Graphene Based Nanocomposites for Energy Applications 8. Advances in Ceramic PZT/PA6 Matrix Composite Materials for Energy Harvesting Applications: Structural, Dielectric, Piezoelectric and Mechanical Study 9. Role of Nitrides in Hydrogen Production and CO2 Reduction 10. Oxide Perovskites and Their Derivatives for Photovoltaics Applications 11. Nanostructured Li2MSiO4 (M=Fe, Mn) Cathode Material for Li-ion Batteries 12. Nanostructured Ceramics: Role in Water Remediation 13. Advances in the Use of Metal Oxide Nanocomposites for Remediationof Aqueous Pollutants: Adsorption and Photocatalysis of Organics and Heavy Metals 14. Nanostructured Ceramics for Air Pollution Control: Removal of Gaseous Pollutants and Pathogenic Organisms 15. Nanostructured Oxide Ceramic Materials for Applications in the Field of Humidity Sensors 16. Applications of Smart Ceramics in Nano/Micro Sensors and Biosensors 17. Nanostructured Oxides for Photocatalytic Applications

Dr. Akshay Kumar is presently working as Assistant Professor and Head of the Department of Nanotechnology, Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University (SGGSWU), India. He received his Ph.D. from the School of Physics & Materials Science, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, India in 2011 and Masters in Applied Physics from Punjabi University, India in 2005. He has expertise in nanostructured material synthesis and characterization. He has established an Advanced Functional Materials Laboratory at SGGSWU. He is working on the structural-property relations of nanomaterials especially advanced ceramics for various applications. To date he has worked on various ceramic materials such as boron nitride, boron carbide, tungsten carbide, aluminium nitride, titanium nitride, titanium carbide, etc. He has contributed to the synthesis of engineered nanomaterials for energy, environmental and biological applications.

Dr. Akshay has authored more than 80 research articles in peer reviewed journals. He has also served as a reviewer for reputed scientific publishing groups like Elsevier, Springer, American Chemical Society, Royal Society of Chemistry, etc. To date, he has successfully supervised more than 30 undergraduate students, 29 postgraduate students and 7 doctoral students. Currently, he is supervising 3 Ph.D. students. He has handled research projects from the Department of Science & Technology (DST-SERB) and Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (DAE-BRNS), Govt. of India. He is actively working on various collaborations in the field of nanotechnology.

Advanced Ceramics possess various unique properties and are able to withstand harsh environments. The aim of this book is to cover various aspects of the advanced ceramics like carbides, nitrides and oxides for energy and environment related applications. Advanced ceramics with additional functionality propose significant potential for greater impact in the field of energy and environmental technologies. This book focuses on the nanostructured ceramics synthesis, properties, structure-property relation and application in the area of energy and environment. It covers the high impact work from around 50 leading researchers throughout the world working in this field. This will help metallurgists, biologists, mechanical engineers, ceramicists, material scientists and researchers working in the nanotechnology field with inclusion of every aspect of advanced ceramics for energy and environmental applications.