Study of the structural and electrical properties of the PVA–NH4SCN membrane for its application in electric double layer capacitors

Abstract

The PVA–NH4SCN polymer membranes were prepared by simple solution casting technique by passing ultrasound waves during the preparation. The polymer membranes were subjected to X-ray diffraction analysis and scanning electron microscopy. The X-ray diffraction pattern confirmed the incorporation of a salt into the polymer matrix. The scanning electron microscopy images showed the morphological changes of the polymer membrane. The polymer electrolyte (designated as UPVA20) incorporated with the 20 wt.% of the salt had the highest electrical conductivity in the order of 10–4 S cm–1. It was concluded from the dielectric, tangent and modulus spectra that the UPVA20 membrane was good at its properties. Thus, electric double layer capacitor was constructed with UPVA20 membrane as the separator. The capacitance value of the electric double layer capacitor determined from cyclic voltammetry was found to be 1652 mF g–1. The ultrasound assisted preparation of polymer membranes were good at performance when compared with the polymer membranes of ultrasound unassisted preparation. Among all the polymer electrolytes, UPVA20 polymer membrane had high conductivity, potential stability and capacitance.