Morphology, molecular dynamics and electric conductivity of carbohydrate polymer films based on alginic acid and benzimidazole

► The biodegradable films based on alginic acid and benzimidazole were synthesized. ► The materials were examined as potential membranes for electrochemical devices. ► The polymer films have shown the electric conductivity of ∼10−3 S/cm at 473 K. ► The molecular properties of the alginate systems were studied by NMR. ► The mechanism of the proton transport in the materials is the Grotthuss mechanism.