TITLE:
Effect of Ethylene Carbonate (EC) Plasticizer on Poly (Vinyl Chloride)-Liquid 50% Epoxidised Natural Rubber (LENR50) Based Polymer Electrolyte
AUTHORS:
M. Y. A. Rahman, A. Ahmad, T. K. Lee, Y. Farina, H. M. Dahlan
KEYWORDS:
PVC, LENR50, LiClO4, Ionic Conductivity, Polymers Electrolyte, EC
JOURNAL NAME:
Materials Sciences and Applications,
Vol.2 No.7,
July
29,
2011
ABSTRACT: In this research, new thin film of a free standing electrolyte film containing poly(vinyl) chloride (PVC), 50% liquid epoxidized natural rubber (LENR50), Ethylene carbonate (EC) blends as a host for the electrolyte which was doped with lithium perchlorate (LiClO4) as the dopant salt was successfully prepared with solution casting technique. The polymer electrolyte of PVC-LENR50-EC-LiClO4 was characterized using impedance spectroscopy (EIS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR). From the EIS results shows that electrolyte exhibited the highest ionic conductivity of 2.1 × 10–7 S●cm–1 at the 30 wt.% of LiClO4. The ionic conductivity result was supported by the morphological studies which revealed the good homogeneity of the PVC-LENR50-EC blends as no phase separation was observed. The smooth surface can ease the mobility of ions in the system complexes. In addition, the formation of micro-pores by introducing lithium salts to the electrolyte also improved the transportation properties of L+ ions in the electrolyte system and hence improving its ionic conductivity. The features of complexation of the electrolytes were studied by ATR-FTIR.