The hard carbon anode has significant research value and promising application prospects due to its excellent specific capacity, high-rate fast charging capability, absence of lithium branches crystal, and lack of volume expansion behavior. It plays a crucial role in the electrochemical performance of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). In recent years, numerous scholars have conducted extensive research on hard carbon anodes, particularly focusing on the lithium storage mechanism and the optimizing strategies of lithium storage performance. This article provides an overview of the formation process and lithium storage mechanism of hard carbon. It offers a theoretical foundation and scientific basis for designing high-performance hard carbon anodes. This paper subsequently summarizes the latest advancements in preparation techniques, structural regulation, morphology design, and heteroatom doping for modifying hard carbon anodes. These advancements are based on two categories of precursors:biomass and polymers. Furthermore, conjugated microporous polymers hard carbon is proposed as a future direction for optimizing lithium storage performance. Finally, the challenges and future research directions for hard carbon as anodes are discussed. © 2024 Cailiao Daobaoshe/ Materials Review. All rights reserved.
