Synthesis strategies of templated porous carbons beyond the silica nanocasting technique

Abstract

Porous carbons have become extremely important in many applications related to environmental remediation and, more recently, to challenging energy issues. Then, great efforts have been addressed to the design and production of carbon materials for emergent energy applications. Various templating approaches have emerged as suitable alternatives to traditional methods based on physical or chemical activation procedures. This review focuses on simple, sustainable templating strategies based on the use of easily removable inorganic particles (e.g., NaCl, MgO, CaCO3, ZnO) or polymeric materials (i.e., HIPE emulsions, block copolymers, surfactants). The fundamental aspects, advances, applications, and challenges are analyzed in detail. This review provides useful information for researchers interested in easy methodologies for producing porous carbons with a variety of morphologies and pore structures intended for a wide range of applications, including energy storage and production.