Synthesis and characterization of Ni nanoparticles supported on nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon

Nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon (N-MC) was synthesized by the soft-templating method using phloroglucinol/formaldehyde and melamine as carbon and nitrogen precursors, respectively, and Pluronic F127 as a template for the generation of mesopores inside the carbon structure. Scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed that the material had a rough surface, while Raman analysis indicated the existence of sp(2)-hybridized carbon rather than sp(3), similar to graphite. The increase of the D-band to G-band intensity ratio indicated that N-MC has a more graphite-like structure than pristine mesoporous carbon. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis confirmed that nitrogen was successfully doped into the carbon framework. The material was then used as a support for Ni nanoparticles (Ni-NPs). The presence of Ni metal in Ni-NP@N-MC was confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis.