Research progress on porous carbon materials

Porous carbon materials (PCMs) hold great promise in the fields of energy generation/conversion and environmental remediation due to their high specific surface areas, tunable physicochemical properties and cost-effective scaled-up production. The synthetic strategies and the structures of their precursors significantly affect the final performance and application spectrum of PCMs. Owing to the unlimited structures of polymer, carbonization of polymers to produce functional PCMs is one of the hot topics in the carbon materials research field. This review summarizes the current popular approaches that have been employed in the preparation and controlling of the macroscopic shape of PCMs. Meanwhile, the relationship between the structures of polymer precursor and resultant PCMs are carefully discussed. Finally, some directions that can further promote the development of PCMs in the future are also proposed to help readers grasp the challenges and opportunities for obtaining desirable PCMs.