Abstract
Solid films of pure chitosan, chitosan-LiCF3SO3, chitosan-NaCF3SO3, and chitosan-AgCF3SO3were prepared using solution cast technique. The influence of cation size on the chitosan structure has been investigated by X-ray diffraction technique. The interaction between the alkali metal ions and the donor atoms of chitosan polymer is a strong hard-acid/hard-base interaction. It was found that the intensity of crystalline peaks of chitosan decreases with increase of cation size. The impedance analysis shows that ionic transport is high for the high amorphous system. The second semicircle inZ′′-Z′plots and the surface plasmonic resonance (SPR) peaks in chitosan-AgCF3SO3sample system reveal the formations of silver metal nanoparticles. It was found that the high amorphous sample exhibits the high dielectric constant and dielectric loss values. The increase of dielectric constant and dielectric loss with temperature for chitosan-salt membranes indicated an increase of charge carrier concentration.
Highlights
Polymer electrolytes may be defined as a membrane having enhanced transport properties comparable with that of the common liquid ionic solution
X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies can provide a wide range of information on crystal structure, crystal orientation, crystallinity, crystallite size, and phase changes of materials which are characterized by the presence of sharp diffraction rings or peaks [22]
For the present study the X-ray diffraction technique has been used to demonstrate the complex formation between the chitosan polymer and salts and to investigate the effect of cationic size on the crystalline structure of chitosanbased polymer electrolytes
Summary
Polymer electrolytes may be defined as a membrane having enhanced transport properties comparable with that of the common liquid ionic solution. The conductivity of these polymers can be controlled by changing their redox state by means of chemical or electrochemical reduction or oxidation accompanied by insertion of counter ion [1]. Polymer electrolytes possess the advantage of flexibility over inorganic solids [3]. Amorphous solid electrolytes (polymer salt complexes) have gained technological importance for their possible applications in a variety of devices such as lithium batteries, fuel cells, electrochromic displays, supercapacitors, and sensors [4,5,6]. Polymer electrolytes usually contain both crystalline and amorphous phases. It has been reported that the ion conduction takes place primarily in the amorphous phase [7]
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