Dear Colleagues,

The interest in porous carbons has increased during the last 20 years due to their key role in electrochemical energy storage systems such as supercapacitors, batteries, or hybrid capacitors. This timely focus on porous carbons is justified by their ideal combination of characteristics, namely their high electronic conductivity, their large pore volume and specific surface area, their high resistance to corrosiveness, and their chemical inertness. Porous carbons with virtually any pore structure can be synthesized by means of multiple and well-known activation and/or templating strategies, which allows their fine tuning according to the targeted application. Moreover, they can be produced from renewable sources and using environmentally friendly methodologies, which makes them even more appealing.

Importantly, porous carbons are highly compatible with other electroactive materials. When a smart design of the composite material is made, their combination not only overcomes the drawbacks of using each component separately, but also benefits from synergies that originate from their combined use. Generally, porous carbons constitute an ideal electron conductive scaffold to host a more electroactive substance (with a larger energy storage capacity than the carbon), enhancing its charge transport ability and utilization. Ideally, the more active material should be finely and homogeneously dispersed on the surface of the porous carbon for an optimized performance. In some cases, an adequate meso- or macroporosity in the carbon host can also help buffering the large volume changes occurring in the electroactive phase, which otherwise would be the origin of electrode pulverization upon repetitive charge/discharge cycling. Also, the type of porosity and surface chemistry can confer the carbon materials other advanced properties that contribute to the robust operation of the cell (e.g., microporous and doped carbons able to trap in the cathode side the intermediate polysulfides in Li-S batteries).

This Special Issue, entitled “Synthesis, Characterization, and Application of Porous Carbon-Based Composites in Energy Storage” aims to collect scientific works on the design of composite materials based on porous carbons with advanced properties in the field of energy storage, as well as the introduction of promising synthetic routes or advanced characterization techniques. It is open to electrode materials and/or multi-functional interlayers/separators to be used in any electrochemical energy storage system, those being particularly welcome which highlight a strategic role of the porous carbon.

Dr. Noel Díez
Guest Editor

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• new carbon-based composites
• electrochemical energy storage
• rechargeable battery
• metal-air battery
• carbon composite interlayer
• supercapacitor
• hybrid capacitor