The impact of acetylation on physical and electrochemical characteristics of cellulose-based quasi-solid polymer electrolytes.

Cellulose is widely appreciated amongst polymer scientists as the most abundant and cost-effective natural polysaccharide. Nonetheless, the non-dissolving property of cellulose has narrowed its potential from a broader range of applications. Hence, modification has to be made in order to improve its solubility. In this study, a simple, robust and rapid transesterification method using vinyl acetate was carried out by acetylating microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) to obtain cellulose acetate (CA). The solubility test showed an improvement of organosolubility for the modified cellulose. Series of CA powders at five different degrees of substitution (DS) were prepared by varying the composition of cellulose to vinyl acetate molar ratios. Successful acetylation of cellulose was confirmed through Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopies. Physicochemical traits were studied by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). XRD and TGA measurements revealed that CA powders of different DS were less crystalline and more thermally stable than its native form. The CA powders were turned into quasi-solid polymer electrolytes (PEs) and the highest ionic conductivity reported in this study was 7.31 × 10−3 S cm−1 with incorporation of 20 wt.% sodium iodide (NaI) salt. Rheology study was carried out to investigate the mechanical strength of the gels. Quasi-solid PEs were prepared for potential dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]