Synergic Combination of g-C3N4/V2O5/PANI Ternary Nanocomposite for Energy and Environmental Applications
Zhixuan Lai, M.A. Ashwini, Suresh Sagadevan, Diah Susanti, Mohd Rafie Johan
Abstract
A ternary hybrid nanocomposite consisting of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ), vanadium pentoxide (V 2 O 5 ), and polyaniline (PANI) was synthesized via ball-milling, and examined its multifunctional properties for energy and environmental applications. Structural and morphological characterizations have confirmed the successful intercalation of V 2 O 5 and PANI into the layered g-C 3 N 4 matrix, as evidenced by the X-ray diffraction peak shifts. SEM images has exhibited homogeneous dispersion of the ternary composite. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to identify the characteristic functional groups corresponding to each component, confirming the formation of the composite. The energy bandgap of the g-C 3 N 4 /V 2 O 5 /PANI nanocomposite was observed to be 3.51 eV, indicating a slight decrease compared to that of pure g-C 3 N 4 (3.97 eV), facilitating improved light absorption. Vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) demonstrated that the magnetic saturation (Ms) value of the composite was 2.15 emu·g −1 , obtained due to the presence of V 2 O 5 . Electrochemical measurements have showed a Maximum specific capacitance of 45.67 F·g⁻¹ at a current density of 1 A·g −1 , with an electrical conductivity of 0.023 S·m⁻¹, exhibiting a moderate charge storage performance linked to conductivity constraints. Photocatalytic activity tests using methylene blue (MB) dye under UV illumination has indicated the degradation efficiencies of 76% for g-C 3 N 4 and 64% for V 2 O 5 individually after 120 min. The g-C 3 N 4 /V 2 O 5 /PANI ternary nanocomposite has significantly enhanced this performance to 99% degradation under identical conditions, with optimal parameters including pH 7, catalyst dosage of 0.15 g, and methylene blue (MB) concentration of 5 ppm. These results demonstrate that the g-C 3 N 4 /V 2 O 5 /PANI nanocomposite is a promising material that offers enhanced photocatalytic degradation.