  Today, fast-growing energy demands and fuel resource depletion are among the
hottest concerning issues that treating our world. So, a huge need is felt to
find efficient, affordable and eco-friendly energy storage and production
systems. Much current research effort proved that gaseous energy carriers such
as CH4 and H2 seem to be the right choice for alternative fuel resources.
However, the most important challenge with this new-faced resource is the
comparatively low volumetric energy storage density. Fortunately, the
high-pressure gas storage technique inside the porous media of solid adsorbent
is considered as one best way to tackle the energy density problem. Famous
family of porous carbon materials, with a suitable pore size distribution
centred in the micropore range and a large number of adsorption sites per
volume of solid, open up a great scope for gas storing applications. This
review article represents the state-of-the-art with a precise focus on what has
and can be done to improve/enhance the gas/energy storage capacity of
traditional and novel structures of low-cost carbon-based adsorbents. We review
a wide variety of design strategies to synthesis carbonaceous adsorbents, with
a strong focus on creating the connection between structural properties and gas
adsorption performance. In this regard, various synthesis techniques have been
studied with emphasis on the more interesting recent progress that allows
better control and optimisation of porosity of porous carbons for maxing gas
storage capacity. We will also show that carbon-based adsorbents, particularly
activated carbons, have been extensively studied and remain a powerful
candidate in the search for an energy carrier economy. In the end, a
perspective is provided to forecast the future development of carbon-based
materials.
