Conductivity Study of Polyvinyl Alcohol/Polyvinyl Pyrrolidone (PVA/PVP)-KOH Coatings System.

In this research, the different formulation composition of PVA and PVP were prepared and characterized as conductive polymer coatings. The research was done by using different loadings of PVP in polymer blends film which were 2.5g, 5.0g, and 7.5g of PVP. The physiochemical properties of these blends films have been studied in detail by FTIR, optical microscopy and impedance spectroscopy. The ionic conductivity was found to be greatly dependent on PVP content. The maximum value of ionic conductivity was given by 7.5g of PVP addition which is 0.30 Scm-1. Highest conductivity of 0.50 Scm-1 at room temperature was achieved for PVA/PVP in a mass ratio of 1:0.75 immersion in 8 M aqueous KOH solution. Optical microscopy revealed a highly ordered surface structure of PVA/PVP polymer blends. FTIR spectra showed that these ionic conductivities may be attributed to the high concentration of KOH that bound to the polymer molecule. The increased in the conductivity with the different composition of PVA/PVP may be utilized as alternative material in application of conductive coatings such as solar panel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]