Adsorption of Ketoprofen from Octa(aminophenyl) silesquioxane Nanocomposite

Abstract

Abstract:

Silsesquioxanes are organosilicon compounds with the general chemical 
formula (RSiO₁.₅)ₙ, where R represents the vertex substituent attached to 
the polyhedral framework and may comprise hydrogen, alkyl, alkene, aryl, or 
arylene groups. Among the different silsesquioxane architectures, 
Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane (POSS) has attracted considerable 
research interest because of its well-defined inorganic–organic structure. 
POSS molecules commonly possess an inorganic T₈ cubic core consisting of 
silicon–oxygen linkages with the molecular composition R₈Si₈O₁₂. In this 
study, Octa(aminophenyl) silsesquioxane (OAPS) was carefully synthesized 
through a sequential chemical modification of POSS. The synthesis involved 
the nitration of POSS to produce Octa(nitrophenyl) silsesquioxane (ONPS), 
followed by reduction of the nitro-functionalized intermediate to obtain the 
target product, Octa(aminophenyl) silsesquioxane (OAPS). The synthesized 
material was characterized using Powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD), Fourier 
Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance 
(NMR) spectroscopy. NMR characterization included ¹H, ¹³C, and ²⁸Si 
analyses to investigate the chemical environment and structural 
characteristics of the synthesized material. Following synthesis and 
characterization, the resulting OAPS material was subjected to adsorption 
studies to evaluate its potential application as an adsorbent. The adsorption 
investigation demonstrated promising performance, indicating that the 
synthesized material is capable of removing pharmaceutical and anti
inflammatory drugs. These findings demonstrate the potential applicability 
of functionalized Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane materials for 
adsorption-based removal of pharmaceutical contaminants and provide a 
basis for their further investigation in environmental remediation and 
treatment applications.