Natural products derived porous carbons for CO₂ capture

As it is now established that global warming and climate change are a reality, international investments are pouring in and rightfully so for climate change mitigation. Carbon capture and separation (CCS) is therefore gaining paramount importance as it is considered one of the powerful solutions for global warming. Sorption on porous materials is a promising alternative to traditional carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture technologies. Owing to their sustainable availability, economic viability, and important recyclability, natural products-derived porous carbons have emerged as favorable and competitive materials for CO₂ sorption. Furthermore, the fabrication of high-quality value-added functional porous carbon-based materials using renewable precursors and waste materials is an environmentally friendly approach. This review provides crucial insights and analyses to enhance the understanding of the application of porous carbons in CO₂ capture. Various methods for the synthesis of porous carbon, their structural characterization, and parameters that influence their sorption properties are discussed. The review also delves into the utilization of molecular dynamics (MD), Monte Carlo (MC), density functional theory (DFT), and machine learning techniques for simulating adsorption and validating experimental results. Lastly, the review provides future outlook and research directions for progressing the use of natural products-derived porous carbons for CO₂ capture.