A wormhole-structured mesoporous carbon with superior adsorption for dyes

A series of large-pore mesoporous carbon materials with a three-dimensional wormhole framework structure were synthesized by nanocasting using mesoporous silica as a hard template. Samples of hard-template mesoporous silica with pore diameters from 3.08 to 6.43nm, pore volumes from 0.59 to 1.02cm3g−1 and surface areas from 832 to 579m2g−1 were prepared from tetraethyl orthosilicate as the silica source and ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide as structure-directing agent through hydrothermal treatment at different temperatures (110–150°C) followed by calcining at 550°C. Subsequently, carbon materials with large pore diameters (2.76–6.70nm), pore volumes (0.74–2.10cm3g−1) and high surface areas (1074–1276m2g−1) were synthesized using the various mesoporous silicas synthesized at the different hydrothermal temperatures as a hard-template. The carbon material obtained at a hydrothermal temperature of 150°C possesses outstanding adsorbility for amaranth and methylene blue dyes.