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Structural, electrical, and photocatalytic investigations of PANI/ZnO nanocomposites

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Abstract

In recent days, conducting polymers with inorganic metal oxide has provoked a great deal of interest towards electrochemical and photocatalytic applications. In this regard, the organic-inorganic polyaniline (PANI)/ZnO nanocomposite with different weight percentages (1 and 10) of ZnO in the PANI matrix was synthesized through in situ polymerization approach. The structural, optical, electrical, and photocatalytic properties of the synthesized PANI/ZnO nanocomposites were systematically studied. Interestingly, PANI/ZnO (10 wt%) composition possesses excellent conductivity behavior (ρ = 4.35 × 10−3 S cm−1) and displayed maximum photocatalytic activity of K = 14.77 × 10−3 min−1 for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solution (10 ppm) under natural sunlight. The superiority of both the conductivity and photocatalytic efficiencies of PANI/ZnO (10 wt%) nanocomposites might be due to synergistic interaction between PANI and ZnO and high photogenerated charge carrier separation.

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Funding

Dr E. Kumar thanks the Tamil Nadu Open University. PSV thanks the Department of Science and Technology – Science and Engineering Research Board (DST-SERB, YSS/2015/000632) and University Grants Commission (UGC–contract no. MRP-7036/16SERO/UGC) for their financial assistance. PSV also would like to thank the Management of the College for the financial support to establish a laboratory for Nanomaterials.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Sri S. Ramasamy Naidu Memorial College, Sattur, Tamil Nadu, 626 203, India

    S. Vijayalakshmi, M. Ganeshbabu & P. Sundara Venkatesh

  2. School of Science, Tamil Nadu Open University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600 015, India

    E. Kumar & K. Rathnakumar

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  1. S. Vijayalakshmi
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  2. E. Kumar
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  3. M. Ganeshbabu
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Correspondence to E. Kumar.

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Vijayalakshmi, S., Kumar, E., Ganeshbabu, M. et al. Structural, electrical, and photocatalytic investigations of PANI/ZnO nanocomposites. Ionics 27, 2967–2977 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-021-04041-w

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