Recent progress on functional porous carbon-based materials for electrocatalytic processes in Zn–air and fuel cells

The high cost and limited stability of platinum-based catalysts have posed significant barriers to the commercialization of fuel cells and zinc-air batteries. Consequently, the development of precious metal-free catalysts is critical for advancing energy storage technologies. In recent years, porous carbon-based catalysts have attracted considerable attention in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) field due to their excellent conductivity, tunable structure, and large specific surface area. This review first elucidates the underlying mechanisms by which pore structure, hierarchical connectivity, and heteroatom functionalities on pore walls synergistically influence active site accessibility, electron/mass transport and intrinsic catalytic activity, and introduces the synthesis strategy of porous carbon-based materials. It then provides a comprehensive summary of recent advancements in the application of porous carbon-based catalysts in fuel cells and zinc-air batteries. Finally, we propose future research directions, including the integration of advanced in situ/operando characterization with machine-learning-guided catalyst design, to accelerate the rational development and scalable manufacturing of next-generation porous carbon-based catalysts for high-performance energy devices.