Emerging applications of biochar-based materials for energy storage and conversion

Abstract

Biochar, a bio-carbon with abundant surface functional groups and easily tuned porosity produced from biomass, shows great application potential in energy storage and conversion. In this review, recent advances in the applications of biochar-based materials in various energy storage and conversion fields are summarized, highlighting the mechanisms and open questions in current energy applications.

Superior Multifunctional Activity of Nanoporous Carbons with Widely Tunable Porosity: Enhanced Storage Capacities for Carbon‐Dioxide, Hydrogen, Water, and Electric Charge

“…Nanoporous carbons (NPCs) are promising for many guest molecular sorption, storage, and separation/distribution applications due to their flexible chemical nature, high thermal, mechanical and chemical stability, and electrical conductivity . In most cases, the specific application of the porous carbons is directly determined by their accessible porosity parameters: specific surface area (SSA BET ), pore‐size distribution and pore volume.…”

“…These fascinating and versatile characteristics make carbons of special interest compared to other porous solids such as zeolites, metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) or coordinated/cross‐linked polymers (CPs), and other layered materials. Therefore, these materials are being actively and continuously explored and numerous synthesis routes are proposed . For example, the templates of presynthesized molecular architectures of mesoporous silica, CPs, MOFs, and zeolites are often used to achieve control over porosities.…”

“…For example, the templates of presynthesized molecular architectures of mesoporous silica, CPs, MOFs, and zeolites are often used to achieve control over porosities. In both top‐down and bottom‐up approaches, the carbons can be derived from carbides (known as CDCs), graphites (or graphene‐oxide, GO), and carbonized biomass or renewables, polymers (or its coordinated complexes) and MOFs, as well as molecular chemical vapour deposition routes …”

Sulfur‐doped shaddock peel–derived hard carbons for enhanced surface capacity and kinetics of lithium‐ion storage

“…Besides, the high‐resolution C 1s spectrum of KPP‐SDC (Figure 2(F)) presents four peaks centering at 284.4, 285.4, 287.0, and 289.1 eV, matching SP 2 C, C–S, C–O, and CO/O–CO, respectively, whereas the C–S peak cannot be detected in the C 1s spectra of KPP‐C and KP‐C (Figure S1). These surface active functional groups have been proved to possessing the excellent Li + adsorption/desorption ability . The existence of covalently bonded C–S species further verifies the valid doping of S into the carbon network of KPP‐SDC.…”

“…Among multitudinous carbonaceous materials, biomass‐derived hard carbons have been extensively investigated because of their large interlayer distances, disordered structures, and abundant active functional groups that can store more Li + in the various chemically and physically dissimilar active sites . Meanwhile, biomasses are recyclable, abundant, and easily accessible on earth, and their conversion into usable carbon is an economical and green method compared with other carbonaceous precursors .…”