Lignin, one of the renewable constituents in natural plant biomasses, holds great potential as a sustainable source of functional carbon materials. Tremendous research efforts have been made on lignin‐derived carbon electrodes for rechargeable batteries. However, lignin is considered as one of the most promising carbon precursors for the development of high‐performance, low‐cost porous carbon electrode materials for supercapacitor applications. Yet, these efforts have not been reviewed in detail in the current literature. This review, therefore, offers a basis for the utilization of lignin as a pivotal precursor for the synthesis of porous carbons for use in supercapacitor electrode applications. Lignin chemistry, the synthesis process of lignin‐derived porous carbons, and future directions for developing better porous carbon electrode materials from lignin are systematically reviewed. Technological hurdles and approaches that should be prioritized in future research are presented.

Developing novel techniques to convert lignin into sustainable chemicals and functional materials is a critical route toward the high-value utilization of lignocellulosic biomass. Lignin-derived carbon materials hold great promise for applications in energy and chemical engineering, catalysis and environmental remediation. In this review, the state-of-art sciences and technologies for controllable synthesis of lignin-derived carbon materials are summarized, pore structure engineering, crystalline engineering, and morphology controlling methodologies are thoroughly outlined and critically discussed. Green chemical engineering with cost-effectiveness and precise carbonization tuning microstructure are future research trends of lignin-derived carbon materials. Future research directions that could be employed to advance lignin-derived carbon materials toward commercial applications are then proposed.

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The development of high-performance carbon anode for sodium-ion batteries is limited by the sluggish kinetics and structural instability. Expanded interlayer spacing, nitrogen doping, and mesoporous structure engineering have emerged as promising strategies to overcome these challenges. Simultaneously achieving graphene nanodomains construction, high-efficient nitrogen doping, and rational mesoporous structure engineering is challenging. Herein, a strategy of pyrolyzing SiO 2 @ lignin amine urea-formaldehyde resin is proposed for deliberate manipulation of graphene nanodomains, edge-nitrogen doping, and specific mesoporous distribution in amorphous lignin-derived carbon based on polycondensation-template. The obtained carbon material exhibits a nitrogendoping level of 6.03 at% with a high edge-nitrogen ratio of up to 84.4%, highconnectivity mesoporous structure, and graphene nanodomains with expanded interlayer spacing. The optimized carbon material delivers a reversible capacity of 234 mAh g −1 at 100 mA g −1 , superior rate capability of 129 mAh g −1 at 2 A g −1 , and excellent cycling stability. In addition, the surface-dominated sodium-ion storage mechanism is identified by in situ electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Furthermore, the optimized carbon can function as an outstanding anode for full cells. This work proposes a new avenue for designing high-performance carbon for low-cost and high-rate sodium-ion batteries.