Studies on lithium acetate doped chitosan conducting polymer system

The structure of chitosan contains the amine group that can act as electron donors. Complexation between chitosan and the salt can be proven by infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy methods. The NH2, NH3+ and OC-NHR vibrations which can be observed at 1590, 1560 and 1650 cm−1 shift to lower wave numbers when the complexes are formed. The after deconvolution Li 1s core level spectrum of the chitosan–salt complexes can contain several gaussian components one of which has a binding energy peak at 55.2 eV which signifies Li–N interaction. The component that peaks at ∼403 eV in the N 1s core level spectrum complements the proof of N–Li interaction. The highest conductivity achieved for a plasticized chitosan–salt complex is of the order 10−6 S/cm using lithium acetate as the doping salt. Transference number studies prove that this material is ionic conductor and from transient ionic current studies that mobility of the ions is of the order of 10−4 cm2/V s.