Alkaline blend polymer electrolytes based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/tetraethyl ammonium chloride (TEAC)

Alkaline blend polymer electrolytes based on PVA/TEAC were obtained by a solution casting technique. Tetraethyl ammonium chloride (TEAC) was added to PVA polymer matrix to form an alkaline blend polymer electrolyte exhibiting excellent ionic transport and mechanical properties. The ionic conductivity of the alkaline PVA/TEAC blend polymer electrolyte was found to be of the order of 10^-2 S cm^-1 at ambient temperature when the blend ratio of PVA:TEAC varied from 1:0.2 to 1:2. The characteristic properties of alkaline PVA/TEAC blend polymer electrolytes were examined using DSC, TGA, XRD, SEM, EA, stress-strain tests and AC impedance spectroscopy. The ionic transport properties for the blend polymer electrolytes were measured using Hittorf's method. It was found that the anionic transport numbers (t ^-) were between 0.82 and 0.99; the membranes are highly dependent on the types of alkali metal salts and the chemical composition of the polymer blend. The ionic transport and mechanical properties were greatly improved at the expense of the ionic conductivity. In this work we demonstrate that alkaline blend polymer electrolyte can be tailored with a blend technique to achieve specific characteristic properties for battery applications.