Nitrogen-containing porous carbons: synthesis and application

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for energy and sustainability Vol. 1; no. 4; pp. 999 - 1013
• Main Authors: Shen, Wenzhong, Fan, Weibin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.01.2013
• ISSN: 2050-7488; 2050-7496
• DOI: 10.1039/C2TA00028H

Nitrogen-containing porous carbon materials are ubiquitous with a wide range of technologically important applications, including separation science, heterogeneous catalyst supports, water purification, electrochemistry, as well as the developing areas of energy generation and storage applications. To date, a variety of approaches has been developed and applied to introduce nitrogen into the carbon matrix. It is important and necessary to design and control a hierarchical porous structure and the surface chemical groups of nitrogen-containing porous carbons for their applications. In this work, we summarize and compare recently reported routes for the preparation of nitrogen-containing porous carbon materials and the effect of nitrogen groups on its applications in adsorption, electrochemistry, catalysis/catalyst supports and hydrogen storage properties.