Li+-Zn2+tailored nanostructured metallohydrogel based mixed ionic-electronic conductors

Abstract

A conductive metallohydrogel (MHG) has been obtainedvia in situLiOH deprotonation of mandelic acid derived ligandH2IMLfollowed by coordination of Zn2+with an objective to fabricate a mixed ionic-electronic conductor (MIEC) without using any external dopant to the gel matrix. TheMHGhas been well characterized by UV-vis, ESI-mass, FT-IR, NMR, PXRD, FE-SEM, TEM and rheological techniques to gain insight into the mechanism of gel formation. The conductive nature of the MHG (3.06 × 10−2S cm−1) and its utilization as a mixed ionic-electronic conductor have been well established by EIS measurements.