Green Surfactant as a Soft Template for γ- Mesoporous Alumina Nanoparticles Preparation as Adsorbent and Carrier for Moxifloxacin Drug

Abstract

     The unique properties of nanomaterials, coupled with significant progress in nanotechnology, have driven a growing need for their manufacture. Additionally, because manufacturing processes generally result in increased pollution and environmental damage, there is a growing trend toward natural sources. In this study, a safe, environmentally friendly, and inexpensive natural surfactant was used as a soft template to synthesize mesoporous γ-alumina nanoparticles (γ-MNP). The template was the extracted solution of leaves of Zyziphus spina Christi, a widely available local plant, and aluminum nitrate as a precursor. The prepared γ-MNP was characterizing by using different analysis methods: FTIR, XRD, SAXRD, SEM, EDX, and AFM. Surface area was measured by the BET method, and porosity was measured by BJH. The prepared nanomaterials had a surface area (279.31 m²g^-1), pore volume (0.572 cm³g^-1) and pore diameter of 8.199 nm. The obtained BJH pore size distribution and average pore diameter and the hysteresis loops of the isotherms confirmed the mesoporous nature of the prepared sample. The XRD analysis shows that the sample is in a crystalline form with γ- phase and the SEM investigation shows that the sample appears to have nano-sized, smooth spherical, and high and regular agglomeration. The AFM histogram of granularity accumulation distribution shows that the particles range from 10 to 100 nm in composition (72%). The effectiveness of the manufactured γ-MNP as an adsorbent and carrier for moxifloxacin was tested.