STRUCTURAL, MORPHOLOGICAL AND ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF CORN STARCH BASED SOLID POLYMER ELECTROLYTES

Abstract

Solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) based on corn starch and various compositions of sodium bisulphite (NaHSO 3 ) were prepared by a solution casting technique.The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra results confirmed that there was interaction between corn starch and NaHSO 3 with the presence of peaks.Moreover, XRD studies showed that the structure modification of corn starch has improved based on its amorphous properties.The SEM observations showed that the surface of SPE films had formed a porous and branch morphology.The presence of 5 wt.%NaHSO 3 content within the corn starch matrix can improve the mechanical properties of the films from 0.26 MPa to 2.11 MPa of tensile strength and from 5.7% to 16.1% for elongation at break.Meanwhile, Young's modulus was observed in the range of between 1.6 × 10 -2 and 2.6 × 10 -2 MPa.The highest ionic conductivity of 2.22 x 10 -4 Scm -1 was obtained by the composition ratio of 15 wt.%NaHSO 3 at room temperature.The non-destructive impedance spectroscopy was used to determine the ionic transport parameters in SPE films.The transport properties analysis showed that ionic conductivity is related to diffusion coefficient (D) of mobile ions and its mobility (µ).Results showed that the prepared SPE films have potential to be applied in electrical device applications.