Conductivity enhancement in SiO2 doped PVA:PVDF nanocomposite polymer electrolyte by gamma ray irradiation

Nanocomposite polymer electrolyte has been irradiated with 15 Gy Gamma rays. Exposure of gamma radiation caused scissoring and crosslinking of polymer chains thereby increasing amorphous phase of the polymer matrix because of which the ionic conductivity has been enhanced. Ionic conductivity of irradiated nanocomposite polymer electrolyte is enhanced to 9.4 × 10−4 Scm−1 at 303 K compared to un-irradiated system (σ ∼ 1.7 × 10−4 Scm−1). Temperature dependence of ionic conductivity of both un-irradiated and irradiated systems obeys VTF relation. Frequency and temperature dependence of dielectric and modulus of both systems have been analyzed. The ionic transference number of polymer electrolyte has been calculated by Wagner's polarization technique and it confirms that conducting species are predominantly due to ions in both systems.