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

This study achieved the decoration of poly-3-methyl aniline (P3MA) with As 2 O 3 -As(OH) 3 using K 2 S 2 O 8 and NaAsO 2 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/cm 2 and J o of 0.004 mA/cm 2 . The variable J ph values ranged from 0.015 to 0.010 mA/cm 2 under various monochromatic filters from 340 to 730 nm, which demonstrates high sensitivity to wavelengths. Effective photon numbers were calculated to be 8.0 × 10 21 and 5.6 × 10 21 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.