Thermal, mechanical and electrical properties of the PEO-based solid polymer electrolytes filled by yttrium oxide nanoparticles

Abstract

The novel composite lithium solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) composed of polyethylene oxide (PEO) matrix and yttrium oxide (Y₂O₃) nanofillers were prepared by a solution casting method. The crystal morphology of the SPEs was characterized by polarized optical microscope (POM) and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). The induced nucleation and steric hindrance effects of Y₂O₃ nanofillers result in the increased amount as well as decreased size of PEO spherulites which are closely related to the crystallinity of the SPEs. As the Y₂O₃ contents increase from 0 wt% to 15 wt%, the crystallinity of the SPEs decreases proportionally. The thermal, mechanical and electrical properties of the SPEs were investigated by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and AC impedance method, respectively. The physical properties including thermal, mechanical and electrical performances, depending remarkably on the polymer-filler interactions between PEO and Y₂O₃ nanoparticles, are improved by different degrees with the increase of Y₂O₃ contents. The (PEO)₂₁LiI/10 wt%Y₂O₃ composite SPE exhibits the optimal room-temperature ionic conductivity of 5.95×10⁻⁵ S·cm⁻¹, which satisfies the requirements of the conventional electrochromic devices.

Keywords

solid polymer electrolytes / yttrium oxide / thermostability / mechanical property / ionic conductivity

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