Structure, thermal and transport properties of PVAc–LiClO4 solid polymer electrolytes Original Research Article

The lithium ion conducting solid polymer electrolytes (SPE) based on PVAc-LiClO4 of various compositions were prepared by solution casting technique. Structure and surface morphology characterization were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements, respectively. Thermal and conductivity behavior of polymer–salt complexes were studied by employing differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and ac impedance measurements, respectively. XRD and SEM analyses indicate the amorphous nature of the polymer-salt complexes. DSC measurements show decrease in Tg with the increase in LiClO4 concentrations. The bulk conductivity of the PVAc:LiClO4 polymer electrolytes was found to vary between 7.6×10−7 and 6.2×10−5 S cm−1 at 303 K with the increase in salt concentration. The temperature dependence of the polymer electrolyte complexes appear to obey Arrhenius law.