Synthesis and characterization of GaN/PEDOT–PPY nanocomposites and its photocatalytic activity and electrochemical detection of mebendazole

Abstract

In this paper, a novel gallium nitride/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-co-polypyrrole (GaN/PEDOT–PPY) nanocomposite is reported. GaN nanoparticles were synthesized by using super critical ammonia method. GaN/PEDOT–PPY nanocomposite has been synthesized by chemical oxidative polymerization method. UV–Visible spectroscopy, shows the π–π∗ interactions have enabled the delocalization of electrons throughout the polymer network and led to the high performance of the prepared nanocomposite. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, gives information about the functional groups. X-ray diffraction (XRD), shows XRD pattern of GaN, which exhibits hexagonal phase with reflections of 100, 002, 101, 102, 110, 103, 112 and the corresponding peaks were observed at 2θ = 32.49, 34.62, 36.82, 48.15, 57.69, 19 respectively. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) expose that there is an interaction between GaN and PEDOT–PPY. The morphological studies confirmed the formation of PEDOT–PPY nanospike on the surface of GaN nanoparticles. The synthesized composite was used as an electrochemical catalyst for the oxidation of an antihelminthic drug mebendazole, examined by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The GaN/PEDOT–PPY modified GCE (GaN/PEDOT–PPY/GCE) showed electrocatalytic oxidation of mebendazole in the linear range 0.33–5.63 μM with the limit of detection (LOD) 2.44 × 10−6 M. Photocatalytic degradation of cresol red (CR) was studied using GaN/PEDOT–PPY. We have utilized the prepared GaN/PEDOT–PPY nanocomposite for two different applications and found its prominent function. Such eminent performances of the prepared novel nanocomposite can open up new opportunities for developing many technological applications. Keywords: GaN, Polypyrrole, Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), Mebendazole and cresol red