Structural and thermal studies of PVA:NH4I Original Research Article

Proton-conducting polymer electrolytes based on poly vinyl alcohol (PVA; 88% hydrolyzed) and ammonium iodide (NH4I) has been prepared by solution casting method with different molar ratios of polymer and salt using DMSO as solvent. DMSO has been chosen as a solvent due its high dielectric constant and also its plasticizing nature. The ionic conductivity has been found to increase with increasing salt concentration up to 25 mol% beyond which the conductivity decreases and the highest ambient temperature conductivity has been found to be 2.5×10−3 S cm−1. The conductivity enhancement with addition of NH4I has been well correlated with the increase in amorphous nature of the films confirmed from XRD and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses. The temperature-dependent conductivity follows the Arrhenius relation. The polymer–proton interactions have been analyzed by FTIR spectroscopy.