Synthesis of nickel-incorporated larch-based carbon membranes with controllable porous structure for gas separation

Ni-incorporated larch-based carbon membranes have been synthesized by introducing the Ni(NO3)2 into the liquefied larch using liquefied larch sawdust as precursors and F127 as the soft template. The porous structure can be tailored by the amount of Ni(NO3)2, and the Ni and NiO nanoparticles with a size of 10 nm incorporated in the carbon frameworks. The increase in Ni(NO3)2 content can lead to the formation of disordered porous structure and shrinkage of carbon frameworks. The Ni-incorporated carbon membranes with largest pores possess highest gas permeation for N2, CO2, and O2 of 37.5, 19.8, and 55.5 m3 cm/m2 h kPa, which is larger than that of the pure carbon membranes, respectively. However, the poor ordered porous structure caused by adding large amount of Ni(NO3)2 can reduce the gas separation performance, which is attributed to the weaken of the molecular sieve function. The results indicate that the incorporation of few nanoparticles into larch-based carbon membranes can improve molecular sieve function. Ni-incorporated larch-based carbon membranes have been synthesized by introducing the Ni(NO3)2 into the liquefied larch. The porous structure can be tailored by the amount of Ni(NO3)2, and the Ni and NiO nanoparticles incorporated in the carbon frameworks. The Ni-incorporated carbon membranes with largest pores possess highest gas permeation and gas permseparation.