Encapsulation of titanium (IV) silsesquioxane into the NH4USY zeolite: Preparation, characterization and application

This work describes the encapsulation of titanium (IV) silsesquioxane into the supercavities of NH₄USY ultra stabilized zeolite, after chemical treatment. The modified zeolite was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectra, Nuclear magnetic resonance, scanning electronic microscopy, X-ray diffraction and thermogravity. This encapsulated titanium (IV) silsesquioxane can adsorb Azure A chloride after treatment with H₃PO₄, without modifier leaching problems. In an electrochemical study, the cyclic voltammograms of the graphite paste modified electrode, shows two redox couples with formal potential (E⁰′) −0.1 V and 0.21 V to I and II redox couples respectively (v=700 mV s−1; Britton Robinson buffer (B-R) solution, pH 3) versus SCE ascribed to a monomer and dimmer of azure. This paper shows the use of ultra stabilized zeolite in the electrochemical field as host for molecules with nanometric dimensions.