Improving Ionic Conductivity of Carboxymethyl Cellulose Solid Biopolymer Electrolyte with Assist from Dimethyl Carbonate

Abstract

Ionic conductivity is one of the important properties for an electrolyte to be considered before it can used as practical application in energy storage. Therefore, this study aims to improve the ionic conductivity of solid biopolymer electrolyte (SBE) based on carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) doped with ammonium acetate (AA) by incorporating plasticizer, namely, dimethyl carbonate (DMC). The SBEs were prepared using solution casting technique. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) was used to ascertain the complexation among CMC, AA and DMC. From FTIR analysis, DMC is believed to have created new pathways for ionic conduction. The electrical properties of SBEs were investigated using Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). The highest conducting value achieved for the plasticized system was 4.27×10-5 S cm-1 for sample containing 10 wt% DMC. Dielectric analysis revealed that frequency and plasticizer content affect the dielectric constant value. By employing Transference Number Measurement (TNM), the charge transport in the SBE system proved to be predominantly ions where DMC 10 has the highest tion (0.95). Overall, addition of 10 wt% of DMC has the best electrical properties.
 HIGHLIGHTS
 
 Solid electrolyte is the answer to problems faced by liquid electrolyte, and it can be made by using biopolymer-based materials to form Solid biopolymer electrolyte (SBE)
 The SBE in this report was prepared successfully using the simplest and cheapest technique (solution casting technique). The SBE prepared possesses good mechanical properties (free standing, flexible and robust)
 High ionic conductivity and high ionic transference value (tion) is beneficial in electrochemical application and was investigated in this report and found to corelated with each other
 
 GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT