Abstract
Energy and environmental issues, such as fossil fuel shortage and climate change are global challenges that need to be addressed. Research and innovation in sustainable energy-related functional materials, produced by environmentally benign technologies, will play a critical role in meeting these challenges.In this sense, energy, environment, and materials constitute a trinomial combination of special relevance for the sustainable development of our society. Aerosol science and technology is an enabling discipline that can address these issues effectively. These gas phase techniques are widely recognized as being capable of producing a variety of novel materials with controlled functionality for energy and environmental applications. Fundamental principles of aerosol processing of materials are briefly described. Specific examples of advanced functional materials development by using aerosol processes are demonstrated, such as photocatalysts for carbon dioxide photoreduction and thin films for gas sensing. By deeply understanding the particle formation mechanisms inside the process, the aerosol technology can be used for development of advanced functional materials for various applications, such as catalysts, electrodes, phosphors, sensors, drug carriers, biomarkers, and cancer tracers.
