Sustainable carbon materials from the pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass

Abstract

Carbon materials with extremely variable properties are widely used in various fields such as energy and environment. The 21st century can be called the “super carbon era.” However, most of the synthesis pathways for carbon materials still rely on traditional fossil fuels, which will exacerbate the climate change issue. Biomass produced in nature is a sustainable source of carbon. Converting biomass to carbon materials is even a process of negative carbon emission, which can help alleviate the pressure of global warming. Pyrolysis is a simple but effective method to produce carbon materials from biomass. This review focuses on the production and functionalization of carbon materials produced by the pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass. The synthesis process and mechanism of lignocellulosic biomass-based carbon materials are reviewed, and the properties of the carbon materials (morphology, pore structure, surface area, and surface functional groups) are discussed. Moreover, we summarize the functionalization methods, including porous functionalization, N-doped functionalization, and metal-doped functionalization. At last, we propose the future prospects.