Mesostructured carbon-based nanocages: an advanced platform for energy chemistry

摘要

The electrochemistry in energy conversion and storage(ECS) not only relies on the active species in catalysts or energy-storage materials, but also involves mass/ion transport around the active species and electron transfer to the external circuit. To realize high-rate ECS process, new architectures for catalysts or energy-storage electrodes are required to ensure more efficient mass/charge transport. 3 D porous mesostructured materials constructed by nanoscale functional units can form a continuous conductive network for electron transfer and an interconnected multiscale pores for mass/ion transport while maintaining the high surface area, showing great promise in boosting the ECS process. In this review, we summarize the recent progress on the design,construction and applications of 3 D mesostructured carbon-based nanocages for ECS. The role of the hierarchical architectures to the high rate performance is discussed to highlight the merits of the mesostructured materials. The perspective on future opportunities and challenges is also outlined for deepening and extending the related studies and applications.