As a group of large-surface-area
nonmetal materials, polymeric
carbon nitride (C
x
N
y
) and its hybrid structures are nowadays of ever-increasing
interest for use in energy devices involved in energy conversion and
storage, offering low expenses and facile production processes. With
the growing requirement for clean and renewable energy generation
and storage systems, progress in the replacement of expensive noble-metal
catalysts with C
x
N
y
-based materials as efficient electrocatalysts has expanded
considerably, and the demand for these materials has increased. The
modified C
x
N
y
architectures are beneficial to electrocatalytic applications, improving
their moderate electrical conductivities and capacity loss. The present
review strives to highlight the recent advances in the research on
the aforementioned identities of C
x
N
y
-derived materials and their structurally
modified polymorphs. This review also discusses the use of C
x
N
y
-based materials in
fuel cells, metal–air batteries, water splitting cells, and
supercapacitor applications. Herein, we deal with electrocatalytic
oxidation and reduction reactions such as hydrogen evolution, oxygen
evolution, oxygen reduction, CO2 reduction, nitrogen reduction,
etc. Each device has been studied for a clearer understanding of the
patent applications, and the relevant experiments are reviewed separately.
Additionally, the role of C
x
N
y
-derived materials in some general redox reactions
capable of being exploited in any of the relevant devices is included.