Lignocellulose is an ideal precursor for supercapacitor electrodes due to its diverse structures and abundant availability. For supercapacitors, particularly electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs), pore structure is critical. This review summarizes advances in lignocellulose-derived hierarchical porous carbon (LHPC) for supercapacitors, focusing on pore structure and future research directions. We discuss how pore structure influences supercapacitor performance, the activation methods for creating pores in LHPC, and review studies on optimizing pore structure for high-performance supercapacitors. Hierarchical porous carbon should feature a sufficient micropore surface area along with suitable mesoporous and macroporous surfaces to enhance rate performance while maintaining capacitance. This review is expected to actively advance the selection of lignocellulosic precursors and the development of optimized pore structure models, with the ultimate goal of enabling efficient production of lignocellulose-derived hierarchical porous carbon electrodes with superior properties.

Metal matrix composites (MMCs) incorporate a reinforcing or functional secondary phase into a metal matrix to achieve specific properties. Of the parameters which may affect the mechanical behavior of MMCs, the structure and properties of the reinforcement/matrix interface play a crucial role. This article reviews recent developments in measuring the interfacial properties in advanced MMCs, with an emphasis on the use of micro-/nano-mechanical testing approaches. It is shown that, with the novel in situ and ex situ experimental capability, researchers can now obtain some of the critical interfacial properties as well as the effects of reinforcement/matrix interfaces on the composites' deformation and failure mechanisms that were unattainable previously by conventional methodologies. Moreover, the micro-/nano-mechanical testing platform allows for both fundamental and applied research on the composites’ mechanical performance under service conditions, which is considered a promising and emerging research direction.