Chemistry and materials options of sustainable carbon materials made by hydrothermal carbonization

The production of functional nanostructured materials starting from cheap natural precursors using environmentally friendly processes is a highly attractive subject in material chemistry today. Recently, much attention has been focused on the use of plant biomass to produce functional carbonaceous materials, encompassing economic, environmental and social issues. Besides the classical route to produce activated carbons from agricultural side products, the hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) process shows clear advantages in that it can generate a variety of cheap and sustainable carbonaceous materials with attractive nanostructure and functionalization patterns for a wide range of applications. In this tutorial…