Effect of ZnO nanoparticle content on the amorphousness of conducting jackfruit seed starch-PVA blend polymer electrolyte

Abstract

Nanocomposite polymer electrolyte films based on a blend of two polymers jackfruit seed starch (JSS) and poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) complexed with nano-particle zinc oxide (ZnO) (i.e., (50 wt% JSS/50 wt% PVA) + x wt% ZnO where x = 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14) were prepared by using the casting solution method. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) has been employed between the frequencies of 10 Hz and 1 MHz to get the optimum values of the conductivity of the prepared polymer electrolyte films. The effect of ZnO nano-filler concentration on the chemical bonding, crystallinity, morphology, and ionic conductivity has been studied. The maximum ionic conductivity at ambient temperature of 1.10 × 10-6 S cm-1 was obtained for (50 wt% JSS/50 wt% PVA) + 10 wt% ZnO JSS-PVA blend film and it is attributed to the highest amorphous content.