The Fabrication of Solid Polymer Electrolyte from CS/PEO/NaClO(4)/Fly Ash Composite

Solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) have been successfully fabricated from CS/PEO/NaClO(4)/Fly ash composite. Chitosan (CS), an organic polymer, was blended with polyethylene oxide (PEO) to enhance its electrochemical properties. However, SPEs based on CS/PEO composites have low conductivity. Fly ash (FA) has been studied to be used as a filler to increase the ionic conductivity of SPEs. In this study, polymer composites based on CS and PEO were developed with the addition of FA as a filler using the solution casting method. The interactions between CS, PEO, NaClO(4), and fly ash were observed using FTIR. The SPE characterization using XRD and DSC showed a decrease in crystallinity after the addition of NaClO(4) and FA. The SPE composite morphology and elemental distribution were investigated using SEM. SPE conductivity analysis using EIS showed the optimum results for SPE fabricated with a ratio of CS:PEO:NaClO(4) = 3:2:7.5, which was 1.02 × 10(−4) S cm(−1) at 30 °C and increased to 2.13 × 10(−3) S cm(−1) at 60 °C. The addition of FA (5 wt.%) increased the conductivity to 3.20 × 10(−4) S cm(−1) at 30 °C and increased to 4.34 × 10(−3) S cm(−1) at 60 °C.