Facile synthesis of nanostructured porous carbon/silica composite and its adsorption property

Nanostructured porous carbon/silica composite was synthesized via a novel one-step carbonization method by using metal–organic frameworks (MOFs)/silica composite as sacrificial precursor. The crystallinity and properties of the as-prepared samples were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and nitrogen adsorption analysis at 77 K. The obtained composite showed foam-like nanostructure with high surface area and pore volume. The adsorption results indicate that nanostructured carbon/silica composite displayed a good ability to remove Congo red pollutant from wastewater.