SAXS/WAXD/DSC Study of Zn2+-ion Conducting Polymer Electrolyte

Electrolytes are nanostructured materials that are very attractive for batteries or other types of electronic devices. (PEO)8ZnCl2 polymer electrolytes were studied by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) simultaneously recorded with wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) at the synchrotron ELETTRA. It was shown by previous impedance spectroscopy (IS) that the room temperature conductivity of polymer electrolyte increased two times above 65 °C. The SAXS/DSC measurements yielded insight into the temperature-dependent changes of the grains of the electrolyte. The crystal structure of the nanosize grains was revealed by the simultaneous WAXD measurements.