Versatile nanostructures from rice husk biomass for energy applications

Converting biomass into valuable products has great benefits in terms of both economic and environmental considerations, and has attracted considerable attention in recent years. Rice husk biomass was initially utilized to produce bulk materials for conventional applications while a variety of advanced nanostructures (NSs) have been fabricated over the past few years. In addition to their low cost and environmental friendliness, RH-derived NSs (RH-NSs) exhibit versatile properties, which are promising for broad applications in various fields. In this Review, we summarize the latest research on RH-NSs, covering their design, fabrication, properties, and applications in the modern energy field. Based on the unique structure and components of RHs, a series of carbon/silicon-based novel NSs with outstanding performances have been exploited, which are difficult to be synthesized using conventional chemical reagents. We also discuss perspective uses of RH-NSs on the basis of the current research progress. (copyright 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)