Soft-template synthesis of ordered mesoporous carbon/nanoparticle nickel composites with a high surface area Original Research Article

Ordered mesoporous carbon/nanoparticle nickel composites have been synthesized via multi-component co-assembly strategy associated with a direct carbonization process from resol, tetraethyl orthosilicate, Ni(NO3)2·6H2O and triblock copolymer F127 and subsequent silicates removal with NaOH solution. The incorporation of rigid silicates in the pore walls can reduce framework shrinkage significantly during the pyrolysis process, creating large mesopores. Moreover, plenty of complementary small pores caused by silica removal are observed in the carbon pore walls, which contribute to the large surface area. The mesoporous carbon/nanoparticle nickel composites with a low Ni content (1.7 wt%) possess ordered two-dimensional hexagonal structure, large mesopores (6.8 nm), high surface area (1580 m2 g−1) and large pore volume (1.42 cm3 g−1). Magnetic Ni nanocrystals with particle size of ∼16.0 nm are confined in the matrix of carbon frameworks. With increase of Ni content, the surface area and pore volume of the composites decrease. The particle size of metallic Ni nanocrystals increases up to 20.3 nm, when its content increases to 10 wt%. These carbon/nanoparticle nickel composites with high surface area, large pore size and superparamagnetic property show excellent adsorption properties for bulky dye fuchsin base and an easy separation procedure.