Development of polymer electrolyte membranes based on biodegradable polymer

Over the use of conventional liquid electrolytes, polymer based electrolytes have paid a special attention in the area of energy research mainly because of their flexibility and ease of availability. From the last few decades, non-degradable and synthetic polymers had been used as host polymers for the development of highly ionic conducting polymer electrolytes. From our earlier studies, different polymer electrolytes based on synthetic polymer such as polyethylene oxide (PEO) have also been studied with obtained conductivity values of the order of 10(-7)-10(-4) S/cm. Three orders of increase in conductivity has been observed with the addition of additives such as plasticizer as well as nano filler and some of the data is represented in this paper. But in the present scenario, use of biodegradable polymer electrolytes is highly preferable over non-degradable polymer electrolytes because of their renewability and biocompatibility. Also, the use of blend and additives in the polymer electrolytes have become the most promising ways to improve the ion transport as well as electrochemical performance of polymer electrolytes. Polymer electrolytes based on specially the biodegradable polymer have been addressed to bring one step ahead to show the enhanced ionic conductivity, mechanical stability and improved interfacial stability towards electrode materials. Present paper highlights a review on the recent research efforts dedicated by researchers to understand the ion conduction mechanism in the modified polymer electrolytes as well as the usefulness of the biodegradable Polycaprolactone (PCL) as a host polymer in different polymer electrolytes. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Polymer-based electrolytes have gained special attention in energy research due to their flexibility and ease of availability. Biodegradable polymer electrolytes are preferred over non-degradable ones for their renewability and biocompatibility. The use of blends and additives is a promising way to improve the ion transport and electrochemical performance of polymer electrolytes.