Combined effect of nanochitosan and succinonitrile on structural, mechanical, thermal, and electrochemical properties of plasticized nanocomposite polymer electrolytes (PNCPE) for lithium batteries

A sequence of novel plasticized polymer nanocomposite electrolyte systems based on polyethylene oxide (PEO) as polymer host, LiCF₃SO₃ as salt, and a variety of concentrations of nanochitosan as inert filler, succinonitrile as a solid non-ionic plasticizer has been prepared. The prepared membranes were subjected to X-ray diffraction, FT-IR, tensile strength, morphological studies, thermal analysis, AC ionic conductivity measurement, and interfacial analyses. The combined effect of succinonitrile and nanochitosan on the electrochemical properties of polymer electrolytes has been studied, and it was confirmed that the ionic conductivity is significantly increased. The maximum ionic conductivity of the plasticized nanocomposite polymer electrolytes are found to be in the range of 10^?2.8?S/cm. Besides, the interfacial stability also shows a significant improvement. The tensile measurement and thermal analysis results illustrate that the electrolytes based on that polymer host possess good mechanical and thermal stabilities.