Exploring the Dual Functionality of Polypyrrole/Cobalt Sulphide Nanocomposite in Photocatalysis and Gas Sensing

Manoharmayum Vishwanath Sharma; Harendra K. Sharma

doi:10.37591/jopc.v11i3.7399

Abstract

Cobalt sulphide nanomaterial was synthesized using the co-precipitation method, and chemical polymerization of polypyrrole (ppy) was performed in the presence of the synthesized cobalt sulphide nanomaterial for the preparation of nanocomposite. The synthesized ppy/cobalt sulphide nanocomposite was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy, and UV-visible spectroscopy. The TEM micrograph revealed that the generated cobalt sulphide nanoparticles were less than 10 nm in size and were embedded in the polymer matrix of polypyrrole in the ppy/cobalt sulphide nanocomposite. Based on the SAED and XRD measurements, the crystallite size of the synthesized cobalt sulphide nanoparticles was found to be 5.12 nm. The optical band gap energy of the nanocomposite was determined to be 3.52 eV. Under optimal conditions, the synthesized ppy/cobalt sulphide nanocomposite was able to degrade methyl orange up to 86.12% and had a sensitivity (response)/sensing response of 64% at 10 ppm ammonia gas. The study indicated the possibility of employing ppy/cobalt sulphide nanocomposite as a dual functional material.