Effect of SiO<sub>2</sub> Nano-particles on Plasticized Polymer Blend Electrolytes: Vibrational, Thermal, and Ionic Conductivity Study
Pankaj Singh, A.L. Saroj
Abstract
In this paper, the effect of SiO2 nano-particles on PVA-PVP-PEG-NaI based polymer blend electrolyte (PBE) films was studied and optimized. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and attenuated total reflection (ATR)-FTIR, thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), and ac impedance spectroscopic techniques have been used to study the structural, thermal, and dc conductivity, respectively. XRD results reveal that the characteristic peaks of PVA-PVP-PEG-SiO2 based nano-composite PBEs appeared at 2θ~22° with broad halo. ATR-FTIR result shows the complexation/interaction of silica nano-particles with the functional groups of PBEs. TGA analysis shows the thermal stability and decomposition temperature peak (Td, peak) of the NCPBEs decrease with SiO2 content. The prepared NCPBE film having 0.6 wt% SiO2 shows maximum dc conductivity ~5.13x10−6 S/cm at 30°C. The ionic transference number measurement was performed by a dc polarization method, and the results reveal that the conducting species are predominately ions only. Linear sweep voltametric and cyclic voltammetric measurements have been done for electrochemical stability window study.