Aminoantipyrine Functionalized Mesoporous Silica: An Effective Sorbent for Removing Phenolic Compounds from Aqueous Medium

Phenolic compounds are among the most hazardous pollutants in industrial effluents, posing severe risks to both aquatic ecosystems and human health due to their carcinogenic properties. Their removal from water sources is thus a critical environmental challenge. Adsorption is widely recognized as an efficient technique for eliminating such contaminants. In this study, mesoporous silica functionalized with aminoantipyrine (Aminoantipyrine-MCM-41) was investigated as a potential adsorbent for the removal of phenolic compounds from aqueous solutions. The synthesized material exhibited a significant adsorption capacity of 104.4 mg g⁻¹ for phenol. Adsorption kinetics followed the pseudosecond-order model, indicating that chemisorption was the rate-limiting step, while equilibrium data were best described by the Langmuir isotherm model, suggesting monolayer adsorption on a homogenous surface. The high adsorption efficiency, coupled with excellent selectivity for phenolic compounds, was further validated by testing the adsorbent in real environmental samples, including wastewater and groundwater. The results demonstrated that Aminoantipyrine-MCM-41 is a highly effective material for removing phenolic pollutants and holds promise for practical applications in water purification processes.