Ionic Conductivity Studies on Magnesium-Based Cellulose Acetate Polymer Gel Electrolytes

Magnesium-based polymer gel electrolytes consist of magnesium triflate (MgTf) salt, a mixture of ethylene carbonate (EC) and diethyl carbonate (DEC) solvents as well as cellulose acetate as a polymeric agent were prepared via direct dissolution method. The highest ionic conductivity obtained for MgTf-EC:DEC(1:1) liquid electrolytes was 2.66 x 10^-3 S cm^-1 and enhanced to 2.73 x 10^-3 S cm^-1 with the addition of cellulose acetate. These results were in agreement with the activation energy obtained with the lowest value of 0.11. The best explanation on the enhancement in ionic conductivity of PGE is due to the “breathing polymeric chain model”. The plots of conductivity–temperature shown to obey an Arrhenius rule. The electrical properties ofthe sample with the highest conductivity were analyzed using electrical permittivity-basedfrequency and temperature dependence in the range of 100 Hz – 1 MHz and 303–373K,respectively. The variation in dielectric permittivity (εr and ε i) as a function of frequency at different temperatures exhibited decays at higher frequencies and a dispersive behavior at low frequencies. Based on the observed electrical properties, it can be inferred that this polymer gel electrolyte could be a promising candidate as an electrolyte in electrochemical devices.