Ionic transport studies in hyperbranched polyurethane/clay nanocomposite gel polymer electrolytes

Abstract

In the present work, we report a novel nanocomposite gel electrolytes based on intercalation of hyperbranched polyurethane (HBPU) into organically modified montmorillonite for application in Li-ion batteries. The nanocomposites have been prepared by solution intercalation technique with varying clay loading. The formation of partially exfoliated nanocomposites has been confirmed by X-ray diffraction. Nanocomposites were soaked with 1 M LiCO4 in 1:1 (v/v) solution of propylene carbonate and diethyl carbonate to get the required gel electrolytes. AC impedance analysis shows that ionic conductivity increases with the increase of clay loading and attains the highest value of 8.3 × 10−3 S/cm for 5 wt.% clay concentration. Surface morphology of the nanocomposite electrolytes has been examined by SEM analysis. Improvement of electrochemical properties, viz., electrochemical potential window and interfacial stability, is also observed in the clay-loaded HBPU samples.