Various Physical Properties of Piperic Acid: A Potential Biomaterial for Future Electronics Applications

Alkaline hydrolysis of piperine yields piperic acid, which has been studied for its structural, optical, and thermal properties. X-ray diffraction studies revealed an orthorhombic crystal structure for the compound. Morphological studies carried out by scanning electron microscopy revealed that the compound has a fibrous structure. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy confirms its associated vibrational groups at expected positions. In its UV–visible spectrum, the compound displayed direct forbidden and indirect allowed transitions. The optical band gap ( E g ) was calculated at around 3.42 eV, indicating that indirect allowed transitions are followed by the compound. Photoluminescence studies show that, with excitation in the UV region, the compound emits in the violet and red regions of the visible spectrum. Melting point, stability, and other important thermodynamic parameters were obtained from thermal studies of the compound. Various properties shown by the compound have also been compared with piperine (parent compound). Piperic acid shows a significant improvement in these properties in comparison with piperine. Both piperine and piperic acid were subjected to theoretical calculations using density function theory. These theoretical calculations and experimental results mostly correlate with each other. Further, as per the observed properties, a diode-like structure of piperic acid was prepared and characterized for electric properties under various illumination conditions displaying good rectifying behavior. Variation of capacitance and loss of this device was also studied and is briefly explained. The studies carried out on piperic acid project it a suitable candidate for optoelectronic device operation. Graphical Abstract