Demanding energy from carbon

Abstract

Carbon is the central element driving the evolution of our human society towards prosperity over several historical stages. As for now, we are in a stage of blossoming sciences and technologies related to carbon materials, as a result of which our ever-growing energy demand has been largely satisfied. Yet, the expected rise of carbon energy consumption and the emerging environmental concerns have prevented us from being optimistic. To build a sufficiently powered future, we have been revolutionizing our ways of carbon energy utilization by discovering and designing new carbon structures, exploring and enhancing their unique physicochemical properties, and pursuing environmentally friendly strategies. Emerging structures such as graphene and sp-bonded C18 have allowed us to discover carbon's promising properties such as energy storage and superconductivity, while green energy solutions such as fuel cells and CO2 reduction are working synergistically to purify the ecospheric carbon cycle. Therefore, this essay timely discusses related carbon sciences and technologies that have been the milestones shaping our energy consumption, based on which our energy future can be envisioned to be green and prosperous.