PEO-LiCF3SO3-halloysite nanotube (HNT) composites were fabricated by solution casting together with hot compression to form a solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) membrane. Different ultrasonic exposure times were used to disperse HNT nanoparticles in the PEO-20%LiCF3SO3-HNT composite solutions prior to casting. An exposure time of 15 min gave the highest ionic conductivity in the SPE membrane, the ionic conductivity significantly increased by two orders of magnitude from 6.6 × 10−6 to 1.1 × 10−4 S/cm. TEM, FE-SEM, and EDS-mapping were used to study the dispersion of HNTs in the SPE membrane. ATR-FTIR revealed that the bonding of PEO-LiCF3SO3 and PEO-HNT was created. XRD and DSC showed a reduction in the crystallinity of PEO due to HNT addition. The ultrasonication for an optimal period gave uniform dispersion of HNT, reduced the polymer crystallinity and strengthened the tensile property of SPE membrane. Moreover, the electrochemical stability, flame retardance and dimensional stability were improved by the addition of HNT and by ultrasonication.
The polymer nanocomposites of PEO-LiCF3SO3 based solid polymer electrolyte were prepared using two kinds of natural clays, which are halloysite nanotube (HNT) and montmorillonite (MMT) nanoparticle. Different contents (0, 1, 5 and 10wt %) of halloysite nanotube (HNT) and montmorillonite (MMT) nanoparticle were explored. Solid polymer electrolyte nanocomposite film was prepared by solution casting method. The ionic conductivity, crystallinity and thermal properties of solid polymer electrolyte membranes were studied by impedance spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), respectively. It was found that HNT provided higher ionic conductivity for solid polymer electrolyte nanocomposite than what MMT did. The highest ionic conductivity at room temperature was found at 5% HNT as 2.068 x 10-5 S.cm-1. The ion-polymer interactions between PEO-LiCF3SO3 and natural clay nanoparticle were investigated by using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra. The PEO-LiCF3SO3-5%HNT showed good oxidative stability than PEO-LiCF3SO3 composite.
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