Mesoporous pseudoboehmite with novel pore properties was prepared via direct precipitation method using aluminum nitrate nonahydrate as the inorganic alumina precursor and different surfactants containing bis (2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate sodium salt (AOT),N-cetyl-N,N,N-trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and tert-octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol (Triton X-100) as the structure-directing agents.The as-synthesized mesoporous products were characterized by a variety of techniques,such as wide-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD),which implied that pure pseudoboehmite could be obtained when the final pH was between 8 and 10.5,and transmission electron microscope (TEM) images of the as-made nanocomposites indicated that the presence of different surfactant micelles played an important role in the morphology and growth of pseudoboehmites.In addition,it was noteworthy that the pore properties could be enhanced significantly by the presence of transition metal ions.Particularly,when nickel nitrate was added to the aluminum nitrate solution at the molar ratio of 0.0040,the specific surface area,the pore volume and the average pore diameter of pseudoboehmite reached significantly enlarged values of 381m2/g,1.18cm3/g and 9 nm,respectively.