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The ever-growing standards of human living associated with augmentation in human-machine interactivity has created a colossal demand for portable electronic devices with smart material functionalities. One such smart functionality is the ability to be applied on any possible structure and also to operate under mechanically stressed environments. Accordingly, mechanically flexible polymer-based electro-active smart composites have garnered significant technological interest for flexible and/or wearable electronic applications. Also, such polymer-based electro-active smart composites, when integrated to device‐engineering technologies, enable the effective fabrication of slender, lighter, stretchable, and foldable sensors and/or actuators. This chapter discussed various types of electro-active polymer composite-based stretchable strain sensors, their operating mechanisms, performance metrics that validate the suitability of a material for stretchable strain sensing, and factors that decide the strain sensing performance of polymer-based conductive composites.

Polymer-based stimuli-responsive smart composites have attracted significant technological interest, owing to the wide diversity in nature of stimulus and related responsivities. Also, materials in the nanometric scale display unique material properties, plus a thoughtful combination of highly processable polymer and nano-sized functional fillers may facilitate highly advanced polymer-based smart nanocomposites. All these attributes put together have enabled such stimuli-responsive hybrids to be tried for diverse applications, including color switching surfaces, protective coatings that adapt to the environment, artificial muscles, sensors, and actuators, and so forth. However, the large-scale commercial success of such materials demands a thorough understanding of their fundamentals. Thus, this chapter sheds light on the elementary aspects of polymer-based smart composites and/or nanocomposites, detailed classification, properties, and significance toward optoelectronic and energy applications.

Mechanically flexible and optically clear UV shielding materials have garnered significant scientific interest, owing to the increasing exposure of both the living and material world to high-energy UV radiation. Further, an ideal mechanically flexible UV shielding material must present steep absorption in the UV region and near negligible absorbance in the visible region. Although such optical behaviors may be presented by organic material-loaded polymers, they often suffer from photo-bleaching effects associated with lesser photo-stabilities. Consequently, the scientific community started exploring various inorganic filler loaded polymers, especially fillers in the nanometric size, for UV protective applications. The introduced nanofiller brings about appreciable UV endurance via the considerate dissipation of high-energy UV photons while the polymer takes up the processability role. Thus, this chapter covers various factors associated with the filler, polymer, and composite that may decide the success of developing mechanically flexible and visibly transparent polymer-based UV-shielding materials.

Polymer-based soft matrix-enabled smart composites are playing a pivotal role in stretchable and/or flexible electronics, which is a fast-emerging technological sector with promising implications in structural health monitoring and personalized healthcare. Rapid advancements in the field of nanotechnology, catalyzed by the development of novel synthetic and characterization tools, have enabled researchers to perceive further and deeper into the roots of advanced materials and their related applications. There is also the availability of vast chemical design space to molecularly engineer the material functionalities of polymers using nano-sized materials. Plus, the availability of a wide range of polymeric matrices and numerous functional nano-sized dopants has opened up diverse opportunities in the field of flexible electronics. This chapter highlights the recent developments in the field of flexible electronics, with special emphasis on important applications of such nanotechnology-enabled polymer-based smart materials.

Metal oxides represent an important class of ceramic materials that has attracted considerable research interest, owing to the fact that metals form a large diversity of oxide materials that can adopt varied structural geometries with unique electronic band structures. Also, metal oxides at the nanometric scale offer unique material properties arising from quantum confinement effects that induce changes in their optical, electrical, and optoelectronic behaviors. Also, a thoughtful introduction of such functional metal oxide nanomaterials into particle stabilizing polymers may enable advanced polymer nanocomposite hybrids with versatile material properties. However, the real-time outdoor application of such nanocomposites mandates a fundamental understanding of their inherent material functionalities. Thus, this chapter is aimed at presenting the technological importance of nanotechnology and polymer nanocomposites with a special focus on metal oxide nanofiller introduced polymer composites for advanced optical, optoelectronic, and energy storage applications.

The effect of Cerium doped zirconium oxide (Ce4+ doped zirconia) nano fillers on electronic band structure and hence the optical absorption and emission properties of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) have been established. The solution casted PVA/Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 nanocomposite films were subjected to electronic (UV–Visible), fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscopic (SEM) and fluorescent spectral studies. The FTIR studies reveal a positive interaction between the Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 nano fillers and PVA matrix through hydroxyl groups. The electronic spectral studies reveal the changes in electronic band structure of composite with nano filler doping. The SEM images reveal homogeneous filler dispersions, while fluorescent spectral studies establish the dopant dependent photonic emission. The refractive index dispersion of developed films was established by single oscillator model developed by Wemple–Didomenico that shows a monotonic dependence on Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 loadings.

The effect of varied weight fractions (0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0) of sodium doped dysprosium oxide (Na 2 Dy 2 O 4 ) nano fillers on the structural, gross morphological and optical properties of poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) films have been established by diverse spectral techniques. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectral studies ascertain the successful integration of metallic fractals of nano filler with the hydroxyl groups of the polymer. While, scanning electron microscopic (SEM) studies support excellent filler dispersions and contact angle measurements highlight the filler induced wettability transitions (hydrophilic (61.60°) to near hydrophobic (89.02°)). The electronic spectral studies reflects the filler induced changes in the electronic band structure of PVA leading to decreased optical energy gaps from 4.25 eV to 3.55 eV, in addition to a systematic Refractive Index (RI) boost in line with Lorentz-Lorenz effective medium theory. The developed PVA/Na 2 Dy 2 O 4 nano composites (NC) with high visible transparencies and higher refractive index (1.9 for 4 wt% PVA/Na 2 Dy 2 O 4 ) alongside appreciable Abbe numbers are ideal optical materials for micro-optic and optical wave guiding applications.

Lately, polymer based piezoelectric materials that harness energy from mechanical vibrations and/or impact are being increasingly investigated as radical alternates to conventional batteries that are hard to service once deployed. Nevertheless, the optimization of energy outputs of piezoelectric energy harvesters is one of the prime challenges faced by the scientific community. This chapter provides an overview of polymer based piezoelectric energy harvesters with special emphasis on current state of research on polymer composites/nanocomposites for vibrational energy harvesting. A detailed summary of piezoelectric phenomenon in polymers is also presented. An in-depth narration detailing the enhancement of piezoelectric behavior of one of the most commonly employed piezoelectric polymer (PVDF) is presented with special emphasis on some of the promising filler materials towards realizing high efficient piezoelectric modules. This chapter is intended to give an insight on the recent advances in the field of polymer based piezoelectric materials.

Strontium doped zirconium oxide (SZO) nano particles were synthesized by a hydrothermal particle growth technique and were employed for removal of Cu (II) from water. The synthesized nano adsorbents were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and UV-visible spectral studies. The adsorption experiments were affected in batch to establish the influence of pH, contact duration/time, temperature and initial metal ion concentration on adsorption efficiency. This work demonstrates the success of employing SZO nano adsorbents towards efficient removal of Cu (II) from water.