Synthesis and Characterization of 3DOM Structure Containing Zinc Cerium and Aluminum Oxides for Future Use in ZIF-8 Dye Adsorption Tests

Abstract

A three-dimensionally ordered macroporous (3DOM) material was synthesized from a Pechini solution containing zinc, cerium and aluminum nitrates with ethylene glycol and citric acid. The solution was infiltrated into two different polymeric colloidal crystal templates. Both templates were made out of poly(methyl methacrylate), although one used a potassium persulfate initiator and had a sphere size of 350 nm, while the other used 2,2’-azobis(2-methylpropionamidine) dihydrochloride as an initiator and had a sphere size of 300 nm. The template was removed by calcination, and the structure of the resulting 3DOM material was characterized using powder X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. In the future, the samples will be used as support structures for a metal-organic framework nanomaterial, ZIF-8, to investigate the application of ZIF-8 in dye adsorption.