Hierarchically porous Fe2O3/CuO composite monoliths: Synthesis and characterization

In this paper, hierarchically porous Fe2O3/CuO composite monoliths were first successfully synthesized by a mild method using silica monoliths as templates. The structure of composite monoliths was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption-desorption. The results indicated that the molar ratio of Fe to Cu had a great influence on the crystal phase of Fe2O3, pore size and the structure of the macroporous wall. The Fe2O3/CuO composite monoliths consist of hierarchically macroporous and mesoporous structure, while the sample with the Fe/Cu molar ratio of 2: 1 possesses tighter wall structure than other samples. It is expected that as-prepared Fe2O3/CuO composite monoliths have potential applications in several fields as catalysts, catalyst supports, chemical sensors and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).