Biomass-derived carbon–silicon composites (C@Si) as anodes for lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries: A promising strategy towards long-term cycling stability: A mini review

•Efficient strategy to turn biomass wastes into high-capacity anode materials for LIBs and NIBs.•First article to compile recent advancement of using biomass derived carbon-silicon for advanced anodes.•Si@C composite to enhance the conductivity stabilize material interfacial features for better cycle stability.•Strategies to reduce volume expansion of Si anodes are summarized.•The challenges of bio-based carbon-silicon in LIBs and NIBs are put forward. The global need for high energy density and performing rechargeable batteries has led to the development of high-capacity silicon-based anode materials to meet the energy demands imposed to electrify plug-in vehicles to curtail carbon emissions by 2035. Unfortunately, the high theoretical capacity (4200 mA h g−1) of silicon by (de-)alloy mechanism is limited by its severe volume changes (ΔV ∼ 200% − 400%) during cycling for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), while for sodium-ion batteries (NIBs) remain uncertain, and hence, compositing with carbons (C@Si) represent a promising strategy to enable the aforementioned practical application. The present review outlines the recent progress of biomass-derived Si-carbon composite (C@Si) anodes for LIBs and NIBs. In this perspective, we present different types of biomass precursors, silicon sources, and compositing strategies, and how these impact on the C@Si physicochemical properties and their electrochemical performance are discussed.