Effect of swift heavy O7+ ion radiations on conductivity of lithium based polymer blend electrolyte

• dc Conductivity of PVA–PEO blend system gets improved upon irradiation.
• The specimen irradiated at a fluence of 1×1012 ions/cm2 shows the optimum value of conductivity.
• The values of melting temperatures change with varying fluences of radiations.
• The conduction and relaxation activation energies at various fluences are comparable.
• After irradiation, the degree of crystallinity reduces, but no structural changes are observed.

In the present work, effect of swift heavy O7+ ion of 80 MeV of different fluences, on conductivity of [PVA(47.5)–PEO(47.5)–LiCF3SO3(5)]–EC(8) polymeric films has been investigated using ac impedance spectroscopy. The power law exponent n, hopping frequency ωh and activation energies for conduction Eac and relaxation Ear, have been investigated for different fluences. The DSC measurements are carried out in order to investigate the variations in the degree of crystallinity and thermal parameters (Tm) of the blend specimen prior and after irradiation. The Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) measurements are carried out in order to investigate the changes in the vibrational modes of molecules upon irradiation. The FT-IR measurements corroborate the formation of amorphous phase in the blend matrix after irradiation. The conductivity is found to be optimum at the fluence of 1×1012 ions/cm2. The enhancement and the improvement in the electrolytic properties of PVA–PEO blend upon O7+ ion irradiation have been observed.