Abstract
New nanocomposite polymer electrolytes have been synthesized by solution casting technique with a view to investigate detailed transport characteristics of a zinc (Zn2+) ion-conducting polymer electrolyte system, namely, poly(vinilydene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene):zinc triflate in the ratio of 75:25 dispersed with 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10 wt% titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanofiller, respectively. The particular polymer electrolyte specimen having 5 wt% TiO2 nanofiller exhibited the maximum electrical conductivity of 3.4 × 10−4 S cm−1 at room temperature (298 K). Frequency response analysis in terms of conductivity and dielectric relaxation studies has been carried out in order to ascertain the possible movement of ions within the polymer matrix. The modulus spectra show the existence of a non-Debye type of relaxation occurring with a distribution of relaxation times. The Zn2+ ionic transport number has been determined to be approximately 0.57, thereby suggesting the predominant impact of Zn2+ ions toward the measured total electrical conductivity. Differential scanning calorimetric results have confirmed that with the loading of TiO2 nanofiller up to 5 wt%, glass transition temperature and degree of crystallinity of the polymer decrease but increase slightly beyond 5 wt% TiO2. The present X-ray diffraction analysis has revealed the occurrence of ion/filler interactions within the polymer network due to the dispersion of TiO2 nanofiller. Certain device characteristics have also been evaluated by fabricating an appropriate electrochemical cell based on Zn/manganese dioxide electrode couple as an area of application and examining relevant discharge features.
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