Nanoporous carbons possessing high surface area and narrow pore size distribution are among the most important classes of porous materials that are practically utilized in industries. Recently, several metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) or porous coordination polymers (PCPs) have been demonstrated as promising precursors to create functional nanoporous carbons. In this highlight article, we briefly review the recent progress in preparation of these novel MOF-derived nanoporous carbons. Some promising applications in energy and environment-related areas and future outlook are also discussed.

Nanoporous carbons with high surface area are achieved through direct carbonization of a commercially available zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8) without any additional carbon sources. The resultant nanoporous carbons exhibit high electrochemical capacitances in an acidic aqueous electrolyte.

Oxide supports functionalized with amine moieties have been used for decades as catalysts and chromatographic media. Owing to the recognized impact of atmospheric CO₂ on global climate change, the study of the use of amine-oxide hybrid materials as CO₂ sorbents has exploded in the past decade. While the majority of the work has concerned separation of CO₂ from dilute mixtures such as flue gas from coal-fired power plants, it has been recognized by us and others that such supported amine materials are also perhaps uniquely suited to extract CO₂ from ultradilute gas mixtures, such as ambient air. As unique, low temperature chemisorbents, they can operate under ambient conditions, spontaneously extracting CO₂ from ambient air, while being regenerated under mild conditions using heat or the combination of heat and vacuum. This Account describes the evolution of our activities on the design of amine-functionalized silica materials for catalysis to the design, characterization, and utilization of these materials in CO₂ separations. New materials developed in our laboratory, such as hyperbranched aminosilica materials, and previously known amine-oxide hybrid compositions, have been extensively studied for CO₂ extraction from simulated ambient air (400 ppm of CO₂). The role of amine type and structure (molecular, polymeric), support type and structure, the stability of the various compositions under simulated operating conditions, and the nature of the adsorbed CO₂ have been investigated in detail. The requirements for an effective, practical air capture process have been outlined and the ability of amine–oxide hybrid materials to meet these needs has been discussed. Ultimately, the practicality of such a “direct air capture” process is predicated not only on the physicochemical properties of the sorbent, but also how the sorbent operates in a practical process that offers a scalable gas–solid contacting strategy. In this regard, the utility of low pressure drop monolith contactors is suggested to offer a practical mode of amine sorbent/air contacting for direct air capture.