Template-free sol–gel synthesis of microporous NiO–SiO2 composite with high surface area and narrow pore size distribution

Microporous NiO–SiO2 composites were synthesized by a new sol–gel chemistry strategy using propylene oxide as gelation agent. Simple procedure, using of cheap precursor and high quality of the synthesized target materials were recognized as the advantages of the process. The obtained maximum pore surface area of the composites is about 718 m2 g−1 with narrow pore size distribution around 9 A and micropore volume of 0.31 cm3 g−1. It was found that the surface area of the samples decreases with the increase of Ni/Si molar ratio. However, the micropore size distributions of the samples were not altered with the increase of Ni/Si molar ratio. The unique chemistry of this sol–gel route assures the effectivity, simplicity and low cost of the whole process, showing the characteristics for the potential large scale preparation of microporous mixed oxide composites with very high pore area and very narrow pore size distribution.