Current Trends in Designing and Applications of Nanoporous Carbon Spheres: A Mini Review

Great progress has been made in the synthesis and applications of nanoporous carbon spheres in the recent years. In this brief review, we will review the synthesis and applications of nanoporous carbon spheres, and further describe their advantages and disadvantages. The synthesis techniques are mainly introduced in the review including the Stöber method and those based on templating, self-assembly, emulsion and hydrothermal carbonization, while applications are described shortly. We cover the key applications of these nanoporous carbon spheres, including adsorption, catalysis, separation, energy storage and biomedicine. In the end, we put up some outlook in the improvement of the synthesis methods and commercial applications of nanoporous carbon spheres.