Derivative of iota-carrageenan as solid polymer electrolyte

A new type of solid polymer electrolyte based on iota (E (c))-carrageenan derivative has been investigated. E (c)-Carrageenan was reacted with monochloroacetic acid to produce carboxymethyl E (c)-carrageenan. The produced powders were characterized by H-1 nuclear magnetic resonance and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to confirm the substitution of targeted functional in E (c)-carrageenan. The polymer electrolytes films were prepared by solution casting technique. Thermal gravimetric analysis result shows that the modified powder and film were stable up to 300 A degrees C. X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the chemical modification of E (c)-carrageenan increases the amorphous phase of polymer electrolyte film. Meanwhile, the scanning electron microscope observation reveals that the carboxymethyl E (c)-carrageenan film becomes smoother than E (c)-carrageenan film which supports the ionic conductivity enhancement. The ionic conductivity of E (c)-carrageenan film increases from 2.19 x 10(-8) to 4.87 x 10(-6) S cm(-1) after chemical modification of E (c)-carrageenan to carboxymethyl E (c)-carrageenan.