Synthesis and applications of biomass-derived porous carbon materials in energy utilization and environmental remediation

Renewable biomass and its waste are considered among the most promising applications materials owing to the depletion of fossil fuel and concerns about environmental pollution. Notably, advanced porous carbon materials derived from carbon-rich biomass precursors exhibit controllable pore structures, large surface areas, natural microstructures, and abundant functional groups. In addition, these three-dimensional structures provide sufficient reaction sites and fascinating physicochemical properties that are conducive to heteroatom doping and functional modification. This review systematically summarizes the design methods and related mechanisms of biomass-derived porous carbon materials (BDPCMs), discusses how the synthesis conditions influence the structure and performance of the carbon material, and emphasizes the importance of its use in energy utilization and environmental remediation applications. Current BDPCMs challenges and future development strategies are finally discussed to provide systematic information for further synthesis and performance optimization, which are expected to lead to novel ideas for the future development of bio-based carbon materials.