Synthesis of hollow mesoporous carbon spheres via “dissolution-capture” method for effective phenol adsorption

A synthetic procedure to prepare hollow mesoporous carbon spheres (HMCSs) with uniform mesopore size on the shell was developed using the “dissolution-capture” method. The dissolution-capture process was performed in the polystyrene core and silica shell. The polystyrene core template was dissolved by tetrahydrofuran treatment to form a hollow cavity. Then, the polystyrene was entrapped into the mesochannel of the silica shell. After carbonization and etching of silica, HMCSs with uniform mesopore size (4.1 nm) were produced. The HMCSs exhibit a greater capacity for phenol adsorption and reuse, thus making them ideal adsorbents for phenol adsorption.