Nanocomposite blend gel polymer electrolyte for proton battery application

A proton-conducting nanocomposite gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) system, [35{(25 poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) + 75 poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVdF-HFP)) + xSiO2} + 65{1 M NH4SCN in ethylene carbonate (EC) + propylene carbonate (PC)}], where x = 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12, has been reported. The free standing films of the gel electrolyte are obtained by solution cast technique. Films exhibit an amorphous and porous structure as observed from X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies. Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry (FTIR) studies indicate ion–filler–polymer interactions in the nanocomposite blend GPE. The room temperature ionic conductivity of the gel electrolyte has been measured with different silica concentrations. The maximum ionic conductivity at room temperature has been observed as 4.3 × 10−3 S cm−1 with 2 wt.% of SiO2 dispersion. The temperature dependence of ionic conductivity shows a typical Vogel-Tamman-Fulcher (VTF) behavior. The electrochemical potential window of the nanocomposite GPE film has been observed between −1.6 V and 1.6 V. The optimized composition of the gel electrolyte has been used to fabricate a proton battery with Zn/ZnSO4·7H2O anode and PbO2/V2O5 cathode. The open circuit voltage (OCV) of the battery has been obtained as 1.55 V. The highest energy density of the cell has been obtained as 6.11 Wh kg−1 for low current drain. The battery shows rechargeability up to 3 cycles and thereafter, its discharge capacity fades away substantially.