Effect of K+ ion doping on structural and physical properties of PVA/MAA:EA polymer blend electrolytes.

A solid polymer blend electrolyte was prepared by using Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and Methacrylic Acid Ethyl acrylate (MAA: EA) polymers with different weight percentages (Wt%) of Potassium Chloride (KCl) by using solution casting technique, with water as a solvent. The structural, thermal, optical, and electrical properties of the prepared samples were studied. The X-ray diffraction pattern shows the decreasing trend in the degree of crystallinity due to the incorporation of KCl into the polymeric matrix. From the FTIR analysis, some peak intensities were decreasing and shifted in the case of KCl complexed films, which results in the complexation between the polymer blend and dopant ions. The TGA analysis reveals that the thermal stability of the KCl complexed films increases as dopant concentration increases. The SEM images reveal the structural reorganisation of polymer chains in the KCl complexed polymer blend electrolytes. UV-VIS spectra show that the optical constants such as absorption edge and band gap (both direct and indirect) values are decreased with an increase in KCl concentration. From conductivity data, it was noticed that the conductivity increased with the increase in the K+ ion concentration. The maximum ionic conductivity of 1.85 × 10−7 S/cm was obtained for the sample having 15 wt% of KCl salt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]