Decoration of Poly-3-methyl Aniline with As(III) Oxide and Hydroxide as an Effective Photoelectrode for Electroanalytical Photon Sensing with Photodiode-like Behavior

Mohamed Rabia; Asmaa M Elsayed; Maha Abdallah Alnuwaiser

doi:10.3390/mi14081573

Decoration of Poly-3-methyl Aniline with As(III) Oxide and Hydroxide as an Effective Photoelectrode for Electroanalytical Photon Sensing with Photodiode-like Behavior

Micromachines (Basel). 2023 Aug 9;14(8):1573. doi: 10.3390/mi14081573.

Authors

Mohamed Rabia¹, Asmaa M Elsayed², Maha Abdallah Alnuwaiser³

Affiliations

¹ Nanomaterials Science Research Laboratory, Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef 62514, Egypt.
² TH-PPM Group, Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef 62514, Egypt.
³ Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

This study achieved the decoration of poly-3-methyl aniline (P3MA) with As₂O₃-As(OH)₃ using K₂S₂O₈ and NaAsO₂ on the 3-methyl aniline monomer. This resulted in a highly porous nanocomposite polymer composite with wide absorption optical behavior, an average crystalline size of 22 nm, and a 1.73 eV bandgap. The photoelectrode exhibited a great electrical response for electroanalytical applications, such as photon sensing and photodiodes, with a J_ph of 0.015 mA/cm² and J_o of 0.004 mA/cm². The variable J_ph values ranged from 0.015 to 0.010 mA/cm² under various monochromatic filters from 340 to 730 nm, which demonstrates high sensitivity to wavelengths. Effective photon numbers were calculated to be 8.0 × 10²¹ and 5.6 × 10²¹ photons/s for these wavelength values, and the photoresponsivity (R) values were 0.16 and 0.10 mA/W, respectively. These high sensitivities make the nanocomposite material a promising candidate for use in photodetectors and photodiodes, with potential for commercial applications in highly technological systems and devices. Additionally, the material opens up possibilities for the development of photodiodes using n- and p-type materials.

Keywords: As2O3–As(OH)3; photodetector; photodiode; photon sensitivity; poly-3-methyl aniline.

Grants and funding

PNURSP2023R186/Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University Researchers Supporting Project number (PNURSP2023R186), Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.