Electrospun carbon nanofibres: Preparation, characterization and application for adsorption of pollutants from water and air

•Carbon nanofibres fabricated with electrospinning technique.•Factors influencing textural properties of electrospun carbon nanofibres (E-CNFs)•Review the application of E-CNFs and its (nano)composites for water and air purification.•Highlight potential of electrospun nanofibres for emerging pollutants and propose future trends. Electrospun carbon nanofibres (E-CNFs) are attractive materials with a huge potential to be applied in different fields such as water remediation, air purification, sensing, and healthcare. These fibres can be employed as adsorbents for different pollutants such carbon oxides, nitrogen oxides, methane, metal ions, dyes, drugs, and antibiotics due to their unique properties such as abundant available pore size, large surface area, high adsorption capacity, fast adsorption rate for various analytes, ease to prepare and rapid regeneration. This review discusses the fabrication of novel carbon nanofibres and their composites using electrospinning technique for water and air purification. We conclude with recent trends and challenges with regard to application of electrospun carbon nanofibres in water and air purifications.