Tailored architectures of mesoporous carbon nanostructures: From synthesis to applications

Tailored mesoporous carbon nanostructures (TMCNs) featuring distinctive and tunable morphologies have gained tremendous interest over the past decades. These materials, being ambulant, have broadened the application spectrum. This review aims to provide an authoritative reference regarding the synthesis pathways, potential applications, key challenges, opportunities and future research directions. Regulating the reaction parameters, such as carbonization temperature, precursors types and concentrations, and molecular weight of structural directing agents, was crucial in this context. This review critically evaluates various techniques used to prepare TMCNs such as (i) hard templating, (ii) soft templating, (iii) modified Stöber method, (iv) space confined assembly, and (v) spray pyrolysis with an emphasis on underlying mechanisms and the impact of synthesis methods on the properties of the final product. Considering the importance of TMCN textural properties in the application spectrum, particular focus has been given to their precise tuning to obtain delicate architectural designs. Then, the applications of TMCNs with pre-defined morphologies are discussed in energy storage and conversion, catalysis, adsorption, and biomedicine. Finally, a summary of key aspects and challenges has been provided to put them into a perspective. This review presents the important research needs to foster the controlled synthesis and applications of mesoporous carbon.