Preparation of magnetic ZSM-5/Ni/fly-ash hollow microspheres using fly-ash cenospheres as the template

Magnetic ZSM-5/Ni/fly-ash hollow microspheres are prepared by using fly-ash cenospheres as the template. The preparation procedure mainly includes two steps, i.e., preparation of magnetic nickel/fly-ash composites by electroless plating and growth of the ZSM-5 layers on the nickel/fly-ash composites by a secondary growth method. The samples are characterized by scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption and vibrating sample magnetometer. The resulting ZSM-5/Ni/fly-ash hollow microspheres show integral hollow structure and magnetic property. They are floatable on water surface when the electroless plating time is 10 min and the hydrothermal synthesis time is 12 h at 180 °C. The floatability of these hollow microspheres can further be adjusted by changing the electroless plating and hydrothermal synthesis times. Furthermore, their magnetic property can also be managed by controlling the synthesis conditions.