Biomass-derived Carbonaceous Materials for Electrocatalysis: A Review

Abstract Carbon compounds derived from biomass have some unique structural and compositional properties that have elicited a great deal of attention as potential catalysts for electrochemical applications. The biomass feedstocks of waste biomass and agricultural waste could be used for the production of carbon-based products in an eco-friendly and sustainable manner towards several electrocatalytic applications. Some of the newly developed electrocatalytic processes depend on such research, particularly the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and the reduction of CO₂ from nitrate/nitrite into water and oxygen or from urea into oxygen and water, respectively. This review mainly focuses on highlighting the synthesis techniques, structural characteristics, and electrochemical performance of biomass-derived carbon compounds to emphasize their potential as effective electrocatalysts. It underlines the function of carbon materials based on biomass doped with heteroatoms and carbon materials embellished with trace amounts of precious metals or transition metals, added to boost electrocatalytic activity. Further, the multifunctionality of biomass-derived materials is discussed thoroughly in this review article. Moreover, the status of current research, recent advances, and prospects of electrocatalysis by carbon materials obtained from biomass are outlined.