Advances in biomass derived carbon materials for hydrogen storage: a critical review of synthesis-structure-performance relationships

Abstract The growing demand for sustainable and clean energy has led to intense research on highly efficient hydrogen storage materials. Biomass derived carbon materials offer a renewable, tunable platform for physisorption-based hydrogen storage. It has emerged as a promising candidate due to its abundance, low cost, environmental sustainability, tunable porosity, and high specific surfacearea. This review presents a comprehensive assessment of biomass-derived carbon materials for hydrogen storage applications. Various biomass resources are examined as precursors for producing advanced carbon materials. The effect of carbonization and activation processes on the structural and physicochemical properties of biomass-derived carbons is discussed. The hydrogen storage performance of different biomass-derived carbons is analyzed, highlighting the relationship between microstructural features and adsorption capacity. Recent advances in composite and hybrid materials are reviewed to demonstrate strategies for enhancing hydrogen storage through spillover and synergistic effects. A comparative analysis of reported materials is presented to identify key performance trends and establish structure–property relationships. This review aims to provide valuable insights into the development of next-generation biomass-derived carbon materials for efficient hydrogen storage.