Conformational, thermal, and ionic conductivity behavior of PEO in PEO/PMMA miscible blend: Investigating the effect of lithium salt

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Mahdi Ghelichi - , University of Tehran (Author)
  • Nader Taheri Qazvini - , University of Tehran (Author)
  • Seyed Hassan Jafari - , University of Tehran (Author)
  • Hossein Ali Khonakdar - , Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute (Author)
  • Yaser Farajollahi - , University of Tehran (Author)
  • Christina Scheffler - , Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)

Abstract

In this research, influence of incorporating LiClO4 salt on the crystallization, conformation, and ionic conductivity of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) in its miscible blend with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is studied. Differential scanning calorimetry showed that the incorporation of salt ions into the blend suppresses the crystallinity of PEO. The X-ray diffraction revealed that the unit-cell parameters of the crystals are independent of the LiClO4 concentration despite of the existence of ionic interactions between PEO and Li cations. In addition, the complexation of the Li+ ions by oxygen atoms of PEO is investigated via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The conformational changes of PEO segments in the presence of salt ions are studied via Raman spectroscopy. It is found that PEO chains in the blend possess a crown-ether like conformation because of their particular complexation with the Li+ ions. This coordination of PEO with lithium cations amorphize the PEO and is accounted for suppressed crystallinity of PEO in the presence of salt ions. Finally, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy is used to characterize the ionic conductivity of PEO in the PEO/PMMA/LiClO 4 ternary mixture at various temperatures.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1868-1874
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of applied polymer science
Volume129
Issue number4
Publication statusPublished - 15 Aug 2013
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

Keywords

  • batteries and fuel cells, blends, structure-property relations