A comprehensive review of template-assisted porous carbons: Modern preparation methods and advanced applications

Carbons with hierarchical pores in the range of few nanometers obtained via template-assisted methods offer a great control over structure and geometry of pores, keeping them uniformly distributed and better connected. Another advantage is the easy functionalization of templated porous carbons (TPCs) by various dopants, which makes them excellent materials for catalysis, energy storage and conversion, sensors and environmental applications. Herein, beyond zeolite-templated carbons, key methodologies based on the template material such as organic and metal oxides, silica, polymers, metal-organic framework (MOFs) and bio-originated materials used for the preparation of porous carbons possessing predetermined structure and composition, have been reviewed. The effects of precursor material on the textural and structural properties of TPCs have been described. In scope of applying novel methods such as evaporation induced self-assembling (EISA), the influence of different templates on the properties of resulting materials has been discussed. Further, advances on the template-induced synthesis of self-supporting metal-organic frameworks and their utilization as advanced templates have been described. Moreover, self-templates are especially emphasized, application of which in our opinion can provide a sustainable large-scale production of TPCs. The recent progress in the study of the diffusional processes, energy and biomedical applications as well as the confinement effects of different liquids and proteins within the porous matrices of template-derived carbons, have been reviewed.