Microbial origin xanthan gum-based solid polymer electrolytes

Natural polymers are widely used as matrices for solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) in electrochemical devices due to their richness in nature, low cost, and biodegradation properties. Xanthan gum (XG) is a natural polymer obtained from microbial origin and when dissolved form transparent solution with high viscosity and stability even in different temperature conditions. This article describes the synthesis of XG-based SPEs with proton conduction. These new materials were obtained by crosslinking XG with glutaraldehyde, plasticized with ethylene glycol, and doped with acetic acid as ions source. The ionic conducting membranes, casted from this polymer solution, showed a high ionic conductivity of 7.93 x 10(-5) Scm(-1) at room temperature, a microscopically homogeneous surface, thermal stability, and predominantly amorphous structure. These results prove that XG-based SPEs are very promising new materials that could be applied in modern electrochemical devices. (c) 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 46229.