Ionic conductivity enhancement of the plasticized PMMA/LiClO4 polymer nanocomposite electrolyte containing clay

This work has demonstrated that the addition of an optimum content of dimethyldioctadecylammonium chloride (DDAC)-modified montmorillonite clay (Dclay) enhances the ionic conductivity of the plasticized poly(methyl methacrylate)-based electrolyte by nearly 40 times higher than the plain system. Specific interactions among silicate layer, carbonyl group (CO) and lithium cation have been investigated using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), solid-state NMR, alternating current impedance. The FTIR characterization confirms that both of the relative fractions of ‘complexed’ CO sites and ‘free’ anions increase with the increase of the Dclay content, indicating that strong interaction exists between the CO group and the lithium salt. In addition, the solid-state NMR demonstrates that the interaction between the PMMA and the clay mineral is insignificant. The addition of clay mineral promotes the dissociation of the lithium salt and thus, the specific interaction can be enhanced between the CO and the free lithium cation. However, the balanced attractive forces among silicate layers, CO groups, lithium cations and anions is critical to result in the higher ionic conductivity.