Enhanced electrical properties of polyethylene oxide (PEO) plus polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP):Li+ blended polymer electrolyte films with addition of Ag nanofiller

Polymer blended films of polyethylene oxide (PEO) + polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP):lithium perchlorate (LiClO4) embedded with silver (Ag) nanofiller in different concentrations have been synthesized by a solution casting method. The semi-crystalline nature of these polymer films has been confirmed from their X-ray diffraction (XRD) profiles. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman analysis confirmed the complex formation of the polymer with dopant ions. Dispersed Ag nanofiller size evaluation study has been done using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. It was observed that the conductivity increases when increasing the Ag nanofiller concentration. On the addition of Ag nanofiller to the polyethylene oxide (PEO) + polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP):Li+ electrolyte system, it was found to result in the enhancement of ionic conductivity. The maximum ionic conductivity has been set up to be 1.14 x 10(-5) S cm(-1) at the optimized concentration of 4 wt% Ag nanofiller-embedded (45 wt%) polyethylene oxide (PEO) + (45 wt%) polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP):(10 wt%) Li+ polymer electrolyte nanocomposite at room temperature. Polyethylene oxide (PEO) + polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP):Li+ +Ag nanofiller (4 wt%) cell exhibited better performance in terms of cell parameters. This is ascribed to the presence of flexible matrix and high ionic conductivity. The applicability of the present 4 wt% Ag nanofiller-dispersed polyethylene oxide (PEO) + polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP):Li+ polymer electrolyte system could be suggested as a potential candidate for solid-state battery applications. Dielectric constants and dielectric loss behaviours have been studied.