Abstract
Proton conducting nanocomposite solid polymer electrolytes (NSPEs) based on polyvinyl alcohol/ammonium nitrate (PVA/NH4NO3) and different contents of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) have been prepared using the casting solution method. The XRD analysis revealed that the sample with 2 wt.% ZnO-NPs has a high amorphous content. The ionic conductivity analysis for the prepared membranes has been carried out over a wide range of frequencies at varying temperatures. Impedance analysis shows that sample with 2 wt.% ZnO-NPs has a smaller bulk resistance compared to that of undoped polymer electrolyte. A small amount of ZnO-NPs was found to enhance the proton-conduction significantly; the highest obtainable room-temperature ionic conductivity was 4.71 × 10−4 S/cm. The effect of ZnO-NP content on the transport parameters of the prepared proton-conducting NSPEs was investigated using the Rice–Roth model; the results reveal that the increase in ionic conductivity is due to an increment in the number of proton ions and their mobility.
Highlights
Research on proton-conducting solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) over the past few decades has aimed to provide high-performance and stable electrochemical devices, such as electrochemical double-layer capacitors, light-emitting electrochemical cells, solid-state batteries, and fuel cells [1,2,3]
Tripathi semicircular arc in the plots was observed to lessen and disappear, leaving only a and Kumar [33] attributed the decrease in conductivity with increasing ZnO concentration beyond 3 wt.% in plasticized polymer gel electrolytes based on poly(vinylidene fluoride)co-hexafluoropropylene (PVDF-HFP) to the small value of ZnO-NPs0 dielectric constant compared to the polymer gel electrolyte system
The dielectric study of the present proton-conducting nanocomposite solid polymer electrolytes (NSPEs) was carried out to understand the conductivity behavior of the systems and is explained in terms of the real (M0 ) and imaginary (M00 ) parts of electric modulus, as they are free from the contribution of the interfacial electrode/electrolyte polarization effect at low frequencies
Summary
Research on proton-conducting solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) over the past few decades has aimed to provide high-performance and stable electrochemical devices, such as electrochemical double-layer capacitors, light-emitting electrochemical cells, solid-state batteries, and fuel cells [1,2,3]. Significant efforts have been dedicated to enhancing ionic conduction in proton-conducting SPEs by different approaches, including polymer blending, copolymerization, the addition of plasticizers, and the incorporation of nanosized inorganic fillers to the system such as carbon nanotubes, reduced graphene oxide, and metal oxide Among these approaches, the dispersion of a small amount of inorganic nano-sized fillers into the polymer electrolyte matrix has captured escalating interest by many researchers due to their high efficiency in improving the room-temperature ionic conductivity of an electrolyte system [8,9]. Different contents of ZnO-NPs were dispersed in the proton-conducting PVA/NH4 NO3 polymer electrolyte membranes to produce NSPEs with enhanced ionic conductivity. The prepared samples were characterized by impedance spectroscopy, where the data were analyzed as a function of composition, frequency, and temperature
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
