Electrochemical studies on nanocomposite polymer electrolytes

Abstract

The nano composite gel polymer electrolyte comprising of poly (vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVdF-HFP), propylene carbonate (PC) as plasticizer, Mg(ClO₄)₂ as salt and Al₂O₃ as filler has been synthesized using standard solution cast techniques in the present paper. The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">ac </i>impedance has been studied to evaluate the ionic conductivity of the nanocomposite polymer electrolytes. It was observed that the conductivity increases by increasing the concentration of nano filler up to 8 wt% and thereafter, it decreases. The maximum conductivity of the electrolyte system was obtained at 8 wt% of the nano filler concentration (Al₂O₃). The temperature dependence conductivity of nanocomposite polymer electrolyte follows an Arrhenius behaviour, which shows hopping of ions in the polymer matrix. The dielectric behaviour of selected systems was also analyzed. The values of dielectric constant, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">ε</i>_r and dielectric loss, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">ε_i</i> increase with temperature in low frequency region, but almost found to be negligible in the high frequency region.