Highly viscous composite gel electrolyte based on cellulose acetate and nanoparticles

This paper describes the effect of the addition of fumed silica nanoparticles in a composite gel electrolyte based on cellulose acetate and LiClO4. Changes in the viscosity, conductivity, morphology, diffusion and dynamic process of ion transport to a conductive polymer film on an ITO substrate were characterized to determine the nature of the nanoparticle interaction with the gel electrolyte. Fumed silica nanoparticles and cellulose acetate formed a linked network resulting in a highly viscous gel. The resulting composite gel electrolyte had a viscosity of 982.1 mPa·s and a conductivity of 4.39 ± 0.30 mS cm−1 at 25 °C, with potential applications including in electrochemical devices.