Investigation on optical, structural and electrical properties of solid-state polymer nanocomposites electrolyte incorporated with Ag nanoparticles

Abstract

A solid polymer electrolyte based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)/polyethylene 3,4-dioxythiophene: sodium polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) has been prepared with various concentrations of incorporated silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) by using solution cast approach. The FTIR spectroscopic study revealed the complexation between the polymeric nanocomposite (PNC) and the Ag NPs. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) results infer that the semicrystalline phase of PNC decreases as the amount of incorporated Ag NPs increases. The transmission electron microscope (TEM) image revealed that Ag NPs have diameters ranging from 22 to 43 nm. Complex dielectric permittivity and alternating current (AC) electrical conductivity of nanocomposite films have been investigated in the frequency range from 0.1 Hz to 20 MHz at 30 °C. Dc conductivity (σ dc) values for the nanocomposite films are estimated from AC conductivity plots. The σ dc value was observed to increase from 1.98 × 10−9 to 2.29 × 10−7 S.cm−1 for the PNC system incorporated with optimal Ag NPs. From complex impedance (Z*) analysis, it has been found that the bulk electrical resistance (Rb) of the PNC films decreases with increasing the Ag NPs content. Therefore, these obtained PNC films have promising applications in energy storage devices.