Carbon and carbon-based materials plays a crucial role in energy conversion, storage, and energy-intensive processes, either as core materials or supporting materials. Examples include electro-/photo-catalysis, batteries, supercapacitors, molecules storage/separation (H₂, CO₂, water desalination, etc.). Recently, new structures, improved functions of carbon and carbon-like materials (e.g., graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄)) are emerging, particularly with heteroatom doping (the so-called hetero-carbon). This includes non-metal doping (N-, B-, P-, S-doping…) and transition metal (co)doping (such as Fe, Co, Mn etc.). In the past few years, good progress has been made in understanding doping chemistry/structures. Engineering development has led to significantly improved technology performance, for example, transition metal/nitrogen co-doped carbon electrocatalysts have been used in prototype proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells; novel hard carbon has been used in large format prototype Na-ion batteries. However, grand challenges still exist before this kind of materials can be broadly deployed for energy applications: 1) discovery of scientific rules for predictive and precise synthesis of hetero-carbons, 2) understanding synthesis-structure-property-performance relationship that can enable improved performance and stability/durability, 3) innovative engineering of carbon nanostructures and architectures to facilitate energy processes (e.g., molecule/ion transfer/accommodation). This symposium is to provide an international forum for scientists and engineers to discuss status, challenges, and future directions of new carbon research from a multidiscipline perspective and to bridge the collaborations.

C catalytic energy storage extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) surface chemistry x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)