Nanostructured materials have been investigated for two decades. These materials are strategically important in various applications, including energy, sensors, drug delivery and separation. Typically, expensive reagents or instruments are necessary for preparation of these materials. The products can be hardly scaled up. In our laboratory, we have been investigating two types of materials: nanoporous silicon and carbons, such as hard carbon, microporous carbon and nanoporous graphene. Nanoporous silicon has shown great promise as anodes in Li-ion batteries. In fact, before our research, there had not been a potentially scalable method to manufacture nanoporous silicon. I will talk about our research on a heat-scavenger strategy to rescue delicate silicon nanostructures from being destroyed in highly exothermic reactions. Carbon is arguably the most investigated element for nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes and graphene. Despite the extensive research on porous carbons, there remains a lack of fundamental knowledge that enables their surface modification and doping. I will talk about our newly invented ambient hydrolysis deposition (AHD) method and ammonia pyrolysis method to manipulate the surface properties of porous carbons. I will also discuss the applications of these materials as electrodes in batteries and supercapacitors.