Effect of plasticizer on structure-property relationship in composite polymer electrolytes

A new plasticized composite polymer electrolyte (PCPE) based on poly(ethylene oxide)-NaClO4 dispersed with a ceramic filler (SnO2) and plasticized with polyethylene glycol (PEG200) is reported. The effect of plasticizer concentration on changes in structure/microstructure and their correlation with physical properties has been investigated and reported. A substantial enhancement in the electrical conductivity, by two orders of magnitude at room temperature, of the PCPE has been noticed when compared with that of composite polymer electrolyte (CPE) films without any plasticizer. This enhancement in electrical conductivity of the PCPE films agrees well with the changes in the local microstructure/structure on plasticizer addition. Grain boundary resistance (Rgb) and glass transition temperature (Tg) have been observed to decrease with increasing concentration of PEG200. Plasticizer addition has resulted in the suppression of crystallinity as observed from differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies. The DSC results indicate enhancement in the volume fraction of the amorphous phase, which appears to be consistent with the broadening in the polymer host peaks observed in X-ray diffractograms. The improvement in electrical conductivity has been achieved without any sharp deterioration in the thermal, electrochemical or mechanical stability of the PCPE thin films. These observations have been interpreted in terms of the action of plasticizer as a diluent/co-solvent.