Vikas Mittal is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at The Petroleum Institute in Abu Dhabi. He obtained his PhD in 2006 from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland. He also worked as a polymer engineer at BASF Polymer Research in Ludwigshafen, Germany. His research interests include polymer nanocomposites, compatibilization of organic and inorganic materials, polymer colloids, thermal stability studies, and anti-corrosion coatings. He has published more than fifty journal publications, authored as well as edited several books on these subjects.

• Preface ixList of Contributors xi1 High Performance Polymer Hydrogel based Materials for Fuel Cells 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Hydrogel Electrolyte 31.3 Poly(vinyl alcohol) Hydrogel 4Summary 19References 202 PVAc Based Polymer Blend Electrolytes for Lithium Batteries 272.1 Introduction 27Conclusion 49References 493 Lithium Polymer Batteries Based on Ionic Liquids 533.1 Lithium Batteries 543.2 Lithium Polymer Batteries Containing Ionic Liquids 61Battery Performance 88Glossary 94References 964 Organic Quantum Dots Grown by Molecular Layer Deposition for Photovoltaics 1034.1 Introduction 1044.2 Molecular Layer Deposition 1054.3 Concept of Solar Cells with Organic Quantum Dots 1074.4 Polymer Multiple Quantum Dots 1104.5 Molecular Multiple Quantum Dots 1204.6 Waveguide-Type Solar Cells 1274.7 Summary 135References 1355 Solvent Effects in Polymer Based Organic Photovoltaics 1375.1 Introduction 1375.2 Solar Cell Device Structure and Prepartion 1395.3 Spin-Coating of Active Layer 1415.4 Influence of Solvent on Morphology 1435.5 Residual Solvent 1525.6 Summary 156Acknowledgment 157References 1576 Polymer-Inorganic Hybrid Solar Cells 1636.1 Introduction 1636.2 Hybrid Conjugated Polymer-Inorganic Semiconductor Composites 1736.3 Conclusion 185References 1917 Semiconducting Polymer-based Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells 1997.1 Introduction 1997.2 Optical Properties of Semiconducting Polymers 2007.3 Electrical Properties of Semiconducting Polymers 2067.4 Mechanical Properties Polymer Solar Cells 2087.5 Processing of Polymers 2107.6 State-of-the-art of the Technology 212References 2138 Energy Gas Storage in Porous Polymers 2158.1 Introduction 2168.2 Microporous Organic Polymers 2178.3 Characterization of MOPs 239Conclusion 242List of Abbreviation 242References 243