Abstract
Across the globe, urban population growth is occurring at a remarkable pace, which calls for new approaches to improving the efficiency, sustainability and livability of urban infrastructure. In particular, this paper discusses applications of solar energy harvesting via nano -enabled plasmonic structures and nanostructure-based dye- sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), wind energy harvesting with nanogenerators, and piezoelectric-based energy harvesters featuring integrated nanowires or nanopatterns. In this study, the framework for scalable and efficient energy solutions with nano-enhanced materials helps to answer that proposition by an interlaced marriage of materials science, renewable energy and engineering. We adopt an integrated mixed- methods approach that includes experimentation and simulation to assess the effects of nanotechnology on energy conversion efficiency, cost, and environmental sustainability. The work demonstrated an improvement in energy yield and hence the sustainability of green energy systems using nanotechnology. The work is among an increasing number of research papers in the area of sustainable energy technologies, yielding lessons for engineers and policymakers.