Preparation and characterization of doped and undoped nanoporous carbon for heavy metal removal from aqueous solution

Nanoporous composites based on pyrogallol and formaldehyde (PF) reached by metallic nickel nanoparticles have been prepared using sol-gel method to obtain PF/Ni adsorbent materials. The obtained samples were subjected of heat treatment under inert atmosphere at different pyrolysis temperatures during two hours. The X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) shows that PF sample were composed by amorphous material while PF/Ni XRD spectra exhibited the presence of metal nickel characteristic lines. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images indicate that PF sample was formed by homogenous material, and metallic nickel nanoparticles sized around 30 nm were dispersed in the PF/Ni nanocomposite. These materials were used to study the effect of pyrolysis temperatures on the uptake of Cr, Ni, Cd and Co from aqueous solution. (C) 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim