Electrical and morphological analysis of chitosan:AgTf solid electrolyte

• A strong relationship exists between DC conductivity and dielectric constant.
• The decrease of ε′ and ε″ is due to the reduction of silver ions (Ag+ → Ago).
• The morphological results reveal the formation of silver particles.
• The AC conduction models can be applicable for ion conducting polymer electrolytes.

Solution cast technique is employed to prepare solid polymer electrolyte films based on chitosan (host polymer) and silver triflate (AgCF3SO3, doping salt) using (1%) acetic acid as a common solvent. The effect of salt concentration on both EP and bulk materials dielectric properties has been analyzed. Physically the original relationship between the bulk dielectric constant and DC conductivity has been interpreted. It is demonstrated that the dielectric constant and dielectric loss values decrease at higher temperatures due to the reduction of silver ions. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive analysis of X-ray (EDAX) indicate the presence of metallic silver particles. The ac conductivity spectra shows three distinct regions and obeys the Jonscher's power law at high frequency regions. The temperature dependence of frequency exponent (s) shows the crossover from CBH model to SP model.