Ionic conductivity studies of poly(vinyl alcohol) alkaline solid polymer electrolyte and its use in nickel-zinc cells

X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern reveals that potassium hydroxide (KOH) disrupts the crystalline nature :of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-based polymer electrolytes and converts them into an amorphous phase. The PVA-KOH alkaline solid polymer electrolyte (ASPE) system with PVAJKOH wt.% ratio of 60:40 exhibits the highest room temperature ionic conductivity of 8.5 x 10(-4) S cm(-1). This electrolyte was used in the fabrication of a nickel-zinc (Ni-Zn) cell. The cell was charged at a constant current of 10 mA for 1 h providing it with 1.6 V. The cell was cycled 100 times. At the end of the last cycle, the cell still contained a capacity of 5.5 mA h. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.