Characterization of proton conducting polymer blend electrolyte based on gum tragacanth and polyvinyl alcohol

Abstract

This paper discusses the development and characterisation of polymer electrolyte films made of gum tragacanth and polyvinyl alcohol that have been doped with ammonium thiocyanate. A minimum amount of PVA was added to improve mechanical stability. Free-standing films were obtained with different salt ratios through the solution casting technique. Physical characterisation methods such as X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to investigate the structural characteristics and the interactions between the polymer and the salt. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used to examine the produced membranes' electrical characteristics (EIS). The blend polymer complexes' dc conductivity was observed to rise with salt content, reaching a maximum of 5.61 × 10-3 Scm−1 at ambient temperature. The system GT-ATC was discovered to exhibit Arrhenius behaviour in its temperature dependency. The non-Debye character of the electrolytes was apparent in the dielectric spectra.