Carbon-rich materials have drawn tremendous attention toward a wide spectrum of energy applications due to their superior electronic mobility, good mechanical strength, ultrahigh surface area, and more importantly, abundant diversity in structure and components. Herein, rationally designed and bottom-up constructed carbon-rich materials for energy storage and conversion are discussed. The fundamental design principles are itemized for the targeted preparation of carbon-rich materials and the latest remarkable advances are summarized in terms of emerging dimensions including sp2 carbon fragment manipulation, pore structure modulation, topological defect engineering, heteroatom incorporation, and edge chemical regulation. In this respect, the corresponding structure-property relationships of the resultant carbon-rich materials are comprehensively discussed. Finally, critical perspectives on future challenges of carbon-rich materials are presented. The progress highlighted here will provide meaningful guidance on the precise design and targeted synthesis of carbon-rich materials, which are of critical importance for the achievement of performance characteristics highly desirable for urgent energy deployment.
Keywords: bottom-up strategy; carbon-rich materials; energy conversion; energy storage; molecular design.
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