Structural, Vibrational, Thermal And Electrical Characterization Of Gamma Radiation-Crosslinked Poly (Vinyl Alcohol)-Based Solid Polymer Electrolytes Blended With LiOH.H2O Salt

Solid polymer electrolytes based on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) blended with different concentrations of LiOH.H2O salt were prepared using casting and gamma-irradiation techniques. The structure and blending of the polyelectrolytes were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy. The thermal properties of these solid polymer electrolytes were examined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The XRD spectra for the electrolytes indicated that the crystalline ratio of PVA decreases with the concentration of Lithium salt. Crystallinity, isotacticity and syndiotacticity percentages were also determined from Raman spectra at different salt concentrations revealing that the crystallinity and the Isotactic regularity of PVA molecule is reduced with salt addition, while the syndiotacticity increases linearly. DSC thermograms showed good accordance with these facts by detecting two melting temperatures corresponding to the two regularities, and these melting points change with the salt content. All characterizing techniques revealed the blend formation between LiOH.H2O salt and the polymer matrix. To account for the performance of the prepared solid polymer electrolytes, thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) studies of the prepared blends were done. Short circuit TSDC at a polarizing temperature 353 K with a polarizing field of 3 kV cm(-1) have been analyzed in the temperature range 300-410 K. Two peaks are evident from the global TSDC measurements on the pure PVA homopolymer. Meanwhile, in all blended samples; there is only one broad peak with a shoulder on the high temperature side due to the relaxation of the poly-blend system. The prepared solid polymer electrolytes showed good charge storage capacity, and moderate current density values near the ambient.