Fructose and Urea as Precursors for N-/O-Modified Mesoporous Carbon with Enhanced Sorption Capacity for Heavy Metal Ions

Ordered mesoporous carbon with a high heteroatom (N, O) content was prepared by nanocasting from a melt of a eutectic mixture of fructose and urea (60/40 wt.-%; melting temperature ca. 65 °C). These precursor compounds are cheap and environmentally friendly. The material possesses enhanced pore-wall surface polarity as compared to that of mesoporous carbon prepared by the same technique without urea. This was verified by water sorption analysis. As a result, the heteroatom-modified material shows higher sorption capacity for the uptake of heavy metal ions (Cu2+) from aqueous solution, which may be interesting for potential application in wastewater cleaning.