Complexation of the drug moxifloxacin with picric acid immediately forms a yellow precipitate with an organized nanoscale structure. The direct carbonization of this product leads to a nanoporous carbon material. This method is an efficient way to remove and utilize discarded MOX antibiotic in other products.

A quick and simple procedure for the synthesis of nanosized complexes of the drug moxifloxacin (MOX) is described. MOX nanoparticles were synthesized via charge-transfer (CT) interactions with the organic acceptors picric acid (PA), chloranilic acid (CLA) and chloranil (CHL). The structure and morphology of these nanoparticles were fully characterized using physicochemical techniques, such as UV–visible, IR, ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR spectroscopies, XRD, SEM, TEM, and elemental and thermal analyses. Notably, it has been found that the complexation of MOX with an organic acceptor leads to well-organized nanoparticles with a main diameter in the range of 10–20nm. Interestingly, the direct carbonization of the complex containing the PA acceptor leads to nanoporous carbon material with uniform morphology. This method is an efficient way to remove and utilize discarded MOX antibiotic in other products.