Nanocarbonmaterialsplayacriticalroleinthedevelopmentofneworimprovedtechnologiesanddevicesforsustainableproductionanduseofrenewableenergy.Thisperspectivepaperdefinessomeofthetrendsandoutlooksinthisexcitingarea,withtheeffortofevidencingsomeofthepossibilitiesofferedfromthegrowinglevelofknowledge,astestifiedfromtheexponentiallyrisingnumberofpublications,andputtingbasesforamorerationaldesignofthesenanomaterials.Thebasicmembersofthenewcarbonfamilyarefullerene,graphene,andcarbonnanotube.Derivedfromthemarecarbonquantumdots,nanohorn,nanofiber,nanoribbon,nanocapsulate,nanocageandothernanomorphologies.Secondgenerationnanocarbonsarethosewhichhavebeenmodifiedbysurfacefunctionalizationordopingwithheteroatomstocreatespecifictailoredproperties.Thethirdgenerationofnanocarbonsisthenanoarchitecturedsupramolecularhybridsorcompositesofthefirstandsecondgenerationnanocarbons,orwithorganicorinorganicspecies.Theadvantagesofthenewcarbonmaterials,relatingtothefieldofsustainableenergy,arediscussed,evidencingtheuniquepropertiesthattheyofferfordevelopingnextgenerationsolardevicesandenergystoragesolutions.
