Thermal, structural, optical and electrical conductivity studies of pure and Fe<sup>3+</sup> ions doped PVP films for semoconducting polymer devices
K. Sreekanth, T. Siddaiah, N.O. Gopal, Y. Madhava Kumar, Ch. Ramu
Abstract
This paper describes the results of solution casting technique derived PVP polymer electrolytes with different concentrations of Fe3+ ion as the dopant. Thermogravimetric curves of the pure and Fe3+ doped PVP polymer films show three distinct steps of weight loss. X-ray diffraction patterns indicate an enhanced amorphous nature of the polymer electrolyte with the increase in dopant concentration. SEM elucidates the surface morphology of the system. The optical band gaps of the films showed a decreasing trend with increasing dopant concentration. The FTIR spectra confirmed the complexation between the Fe3+ ions and the host polymer in terms of changes in intensity and certain bands position. The maximum ionic conductivity of 5.62 × 10−8 Scm−1 at 303 K has been observed for 5 mol% Fe3+ ions doped PVP sample. Hence, the observed properties of pure and Fe3+ ions doped PVP polymer electrolytes look very desirable and promising for battery applications.