Influence of Barium Titanate on poly(vinyl pyrrolidone)-based composite polymer blend electrolytes for lithium battery applications.

Nanocomposite polymer blend electrolytes based on poly (ethylene oxide), poly (vinyl pyrrolidone) that contained lithium perchlorate as a dopant, propylene carbonate (PC) as a plasticizer and Barium Titanate (BaTiO3) as a filler were prepared for various concentrations of BaTiO3 using solvent casting technique. The structural and complex formations of the composite electrolyte membranes were confirmed by X-ray diffraction and FTIR analysis. The addition of BaTiO3 nanofillers improved the ionic conductivity of the polymer electrolytes to some extent when the content of the BaTiO3 is 10 wt%. The addition of BaTiO3 also enhanced the thermal stability of the electrolyte. The surface morphology of the sample having a maximum ionic conductivity was studied by AFM. Molecular motion in the polymeric media was supported by fluorescence studies. The charge transfer arises between the polymer blend and Li-ions were confirmed by UV-Vis analysis. POLYM. COMPOS., 36:302-311, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]