Intercalation of methylene blue into layered potassium titanoniobate KTiNbO5: characterization and electrochemical investigation.

Methylene blue (MB) was intercalated into layered potassium titanoniobate (KTiNbO₅) through a guest–guest exchange method by use of the intercalation compound n-C₄H₉NH₃ ⁺–TiNbO₅ as a precursor. The MB⁺/H⁺–TiNbO₅ nanocomposite has been characterized by XRD, SEM, IR, TGA, UV, elemental analysis, and electrochemical cyclic voltammetric measurements. From the XRD and elemental analysis results, we proposed that the MB⁺ cations formed a single layer standing vertically to the titanoniobate nanosheets together with H⁺. The CV curves of the MB⁺/H⁺–TiNbO₅ nanocomposite thin film exhibited a fine diffusion-controlled redox process, which hints the possibility of being utilized as an electrode modifying material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]