Typical porous carbons were obtained from waster biomass, melaleuca bark activated by potassium hydroxide (KOH), and characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, FTIR, XPS and N-2-sorption. The different samples with tunable morphologies and texture were prepared by controlling synthesis reaction parameters. The resulting samples demonstrate both high surface area (up to 3170 m(2)g(-1)) and large hydrogen storage capacity (4.08 wt% at 77 K and 10 bar), implying their great potential as hydrogen storage materials. Copyright (C) 2014, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.