Effect of heat treatment on the characteristics of electroless activated carbon-nickel oxide nanocomposites

Abstract

Over the years, different experimental techniques have been employed to prepared activated carbon-metal oxide composite materials. However, some of these methods entail cutting-edge equipment and long processing time which may result in the destruction of the carbon structure. Electroless plating, which is a simple and efficient method, have been used to deposit nickel oxide nanoparticles on activated carbon prepared from oil palm shell (OPS) using microwave -assisted CO2 activation. The nanocomposites have been heated at various temperatures (300, 400 and 500 °C) for 1 and 2 h. The prepared activated carbon has BET surface area and total pore volume of 574.37 m2 g-1 and 0.244 cm3 g-1, respectively. The optimum heat treatment temperature has been found to be 400 oC. Also, the weight percent composition of nickel has been shown to increase with increase in treatment time.