Synergic Combination of g-C₃N₄/V₂O₅/PANI Ternary Nanocomposite for Energy and Environmental Applications

A ternary hybrid nanocomposite consisting of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄), vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅), 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 V₂O₅ and PANI into the layered g-C₃N₄ 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-C₃N₄/V₂O₅/PANI nanocomposite was observed to be 3.51 eV, indicating a slight decrease compared to that of pure g-C₃N₄ (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 V₂O₅. 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-C₃N₄ and 64% for V₂O₅ individually after 120 min. The g-C₃N₄/V₂O₅/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-C₃N₄/V₂O₅/PANI nanocomposite is a promising material that offers enhanced photocatalytic degradation.