This review highlights the formation mechanism, structural regulation and applications of HCPs by external cross-linking methods.

Fast charging capability is highly desired for new generation lithium-ion batteries used in consumer-grade electronic devices and electric vehicles. However, currently used anodes suffer from sluggish ion kinetics due to limited interlayer distance. Herein, the coal-based semicoke was chosen as precursor to prepare cost-effective carbon anodes with high-rate performance through a facile pyrolytic strategy. The evolution of microstructure and its effect on electrochemical performance are entirely studied. The results show that large number of short-ordered defective structures are generated due to the occurrence of turbostatic-like structures when pyrolyzed at 900 °C, which are propitious to large interlayer distance and developed porous structure. High accessible surface area and large interlayer spacing with short-ordered defective domains endow the sample treated at 900 °C under argon (A900) with accelerated ion dynamics and enhanced ion adsorption dominated surface-induced capacitive processes. As a result, A900 delivers high capacity (331.1 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1 A g⁻¹) and long life expectancy (94.8% after 1000 cycles at 1 A g⁻¹) as well as good rate capability (153.2 mAh g⁻¹ at 5 A g⁻¹). This work opens a scalable avenue to fabricating cost-effective, high-rate, and long cycling life carbon anodes.

In this study, a lightweight and high thermal conductivity graphite foam with perfect crystal structure and superior graphitization degree was fabricated via in situ titanium assisted catalytic graphitization strategy.

In this work, a series of high-performance graphite foams (GFs) were synthesized using a melamine foam (MF) template-assisted strategy, which employed AR mesophase pitch (AR MP) as the carbon precursor and airflow was applied to achieve orientation and solidification in the MF network combined with carbonization and graphitization. The results show that the thermal conductivity, compressive strength, and graphitization degree of GFs increase with an increase in AR MP slurry concentration. In contrast, the electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) and porosity exhibit an opposite trend. When the concentration was 70 wt%, GF-70 displays isotropic thermal conductivity reaching up to 74.29 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ in-plane and 76.27 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ through-plane. Meanwhile, it also shows an EMI SE of 35 dB in the X-band. However, when the concentration drops to 40 wt%, the EMI SE of GF-40 reaches 71 dB, and thermal conductivities of 32.13 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ and 31.46 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ in two planes have been achieved in GF-40. The isotropic performance of GFs is related to the structure of the template. At the same time, the superior thermal conductivity of GFs is attributed to the ligaments of a parallel arrangement. The outstanding electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) is ascribed to the porous structure's multiple reflections and repeated scattering. This strategy of the adjustable combination of thermal conductivity and EMI SE paves the way for dual-function thermal management materials.