Electrical,structural, and morphological studies of honeycomb-like microporous zinc-ion conducting poly (vinyl chloride)/poly (ethyl methacrylate) blend-based polymer electrolytes

Solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) based on poly (vinyl chloride)/poly (ethyl methacrylate) [PVC/PEMA] blend complexed with zinc triflate [Zn(CF₃SO₃)₂] salt have been prepared using solution casting technique. Thin film samples containing various blend ratios of PVC/PEMA with fixed composition of salt have been examined by means of complex impedance analysis, and as a consequence, the typical composition corresponding to PVC (30 wt%)/PEMA (70 wt%) has been identified as the optimized blend exhibiting the highest room temperature ionic conductivity of 10^?8 Scm^?1. The ionic conductivity of the optimized blend was further enhanced from 10^?8 to 10^?6 Scm^?1 by adding the chosen salt in different weight percentages at 301 K. The occurrence of complexation of the polymer blend and an evidence of interaction of cations, namely Zn²⁺ ions with the polymer blend, have been confirmed by Attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transformed infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy measurement studies. The efficacy of ion-polymer interactions was estimated by means of an evaluation of transport number data pertaining to Zn²⁺ ions which was found to be 0.56. The apparent changes resulting in the structural properties of these polymer electrolytes possessing a honeycomb-like microporous structure were identified using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) studies. Such promising features of the present polymer blend electrolyte system appear to suggest possible fabrication of new rechargeable zinc batteries involving improved device characteristics.