Enhanced electrochemical and photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4-PANI-PPy nanohybrids

Abstract The present study deals with the synthesis, characterization, and testing of g-C3N4-PANI-PPy nanohybrids for electrochemical and photocatalytic studies. For the formation of nanohybrids, the chemical oxidative method was employed and was thoroughly characterized for the surface, functional, and elemental properties by making use of different instrumental techniques like XRD, XPS, FTIR, UV-Vis, Raman, FESEM, HRTEM, and EDAX. On testing of the electrochemical sensing properties, we found that the g-C3N4-PANI-PPy modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) exhibited satisfactory results for the mebendazole drug detection and is supported by the formation of layer and donor-acceptor behavior corresponding to the electrochemical cyclic stability. Further, the g-C3N4-PANI-PPy nanohybrid investigated to have high photocatalytic performance towards the degradation of organic dye, methylene blue, and is supported by the enhanced specific surface area and transition of surface electrons. Finally, with such beneficial features of electrochemical sensitivity and great catalytic activity, the developed g-C3N4-PANI-PPy hybrid can find applications in the analytical laboratories and also catalysis research.