Hydrothermal and thermal decomposition synthesis of hierarchical NiO microspheres with Mesoporous structure

A facile method has been developed to synthesis hierarchical nickel oxide with spherical particle morphologies, high surface area of 234 m(2)/g and narrow pore distribution at 3.25 nm by controlled thermal decomposition of the nickel nitrate hydroxide precursors. The as-obtained products were well characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM (HRTEM), SAED, FTIR and N2 adsorption-desorption measurement. It was shown that the hierarchical NiO microsphere with the diameter about 2.0 mu m is composed of hexagonal nanoparticles with mesoporous structure. The prepared mesoporous materials were used as an adsorbent to remove the Congo red pollutant contained in the waste water, and they exhibited more favorable adsorptive properties than the mesoporous alumina powders with same surface area due to its special structural features.