Conductivity and electrical properties of corn starch–chitosan blend biopolymer electrolyte incorporated with ammonium iodide

Abstract

This work focuses on the characteristics of polymer blend electrolytes based on corn starch and chitosan doped with ammonium iodide (NH 4 I). The electrolytes were prepared using the solution cast method. A polymer blend comprising 80 wt% starch and 20 wt% chitosan was found to be the most amorphous blend and suitable to serve as the polymer host. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis proved the interaction between starch, chitosan and NH 4 I. The highest room temperature conductivity of (3.04 ± 0.32) × 10 −4 S cm −1 was obtained when the polymer host was doped with 40 wt% NH 4 I. This result was further proven by field emission scanning electron microscopy study. All electrolytes were found to obey the Arrhenius rule. Dielectric studies confirm that the electrolytes obeyed non-Debye behavior. The temperature dependence of the power law exponent s for the highest conducting sample follows the quantum mechanical tunneling model.

Hydrogen ion conducting starch-chitosan blend based electrolyte for application in electrochemical devices

“…5a is observed to be smooth and homogenous without any phase separation. This type of surface is the same as reported by Yusof et al [27] for the blend of 80 wt.% starch and 20 wt.% chitosan. When 20 wt.% of NH 4 Cl is added to the polymer host, several particles are observed on the electrolyte surface as shown in micrograph of S4 electrolyte in Fig.…”

“…From our previous report [27], the blend of 80 wt.% starch and 20 wt.% chitosan has been found to be the most amorphous blend compared to other ratio of starch-chitosan. Thus, in the present work the blend of 80 wt.% starch and 20 wt.% chitosan is chosen to serve as the polymer host.…”

Compatibility of poly(acrylic acid)/starch blends

“…Blends of starch with synthetic polymers upgrade the mechanical properties and give biodegradable property to plastics . Blends of starch with natural and synthetic biodegradable polymers such as chitosan , poly(lactic acid) (PLA) , polycaprolactone (PCL) , and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) were reported. These blends are biodegradable, and are used in applications such as energy storage devices, packaging, agriculture, water treatment, and medicine.…”

The Effect of Plasticization on Conductivity and Other Properties of Starch/Chitosan Blend Biopolymer Electrolyte Incorporated with Ammonium Iodide

“…Ammonium iodide was chosen in this work since it possesses a low lattice energy for fast ion transportation [24]. From our previous work, the sample that consisted of 40 wt% NH 4 I attained the highest conductivity value of 3.04 × 10 −4 S cm −1 [25]. The ionic transportation is believed to become faster when a high dielectric constant plasticizer is added and in this work, glycerol has been used.…”