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.Graphical abstractNi-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