Preparation and the proton conductivity of chitosan/poly(vinyl phosphonic acid) complex polymer electrolytes

This study describes the preparation and proton conductivity of novel polymer complex electrolytes consisting of chitosan and poly(vinylphosphonic acid), PVPA. The materials were prepared via in situ polymerization of vinyl phosphonic acid in the presence of chitosan at various monomer feed ratios with respect to d-glucosamine repeat unit. Homogeneous materials were produced and they were extensively characterized for their compositions by elemental analysis (EA), thermal properties by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and the morphology by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The complexation of chitosan/PVPA via proton exchange reactions was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR). The methanol permeability of CHPVPA₅ was lower than Nafion^® 115. The water/methanol uptake was measured and the results showed that solvent absorption of the materials increased with increasing PVPA content in the matrix. The temperature dependence of the proton conductivity of the complex electrolytes follows VTF behavior at higher x. Proton conductivity of CHPVPA₅ was measured to be approximately 3 × 10⁻⁵ S/cm at 120 °C in the anhydrous state.