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Solid polymer electrolytes based on nanocomposites of ethylene oxide–epichlorohydrin copolymers and cellulose whiskers
Author(s) -
Schroers Michael,
Kokil Akshay,
Weder Christoph
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.20870
Subject(s) - materials science , nanocomposite , copolymer , epichlorohydrin , ionic conductivity , whiskers , ethylene oxide , whisker , polymer chemistry , compression molding , composite material , chemical engineering , electrolyte , polymer , chemistry , mold , electrode , engineering
Abstract With the aim of developing ion‐conducting solid polymer electrolytes that combine high ionic conductivity with good mechanical properties, we prepared and investigated nanocomposites of LiClO 4 ‐doped ethylene oxide‐epichlorohydrin (EO‐EPI) copolymers and nanoscale cellulose whiskers derived from tunicates. We show that homogeneous nanocomposite films based on EO‐EPI copolymers, LiClO 4 , and tunicate whiskers can be produced by solution‐casting THF/water mixtures comprising these components and subsequent compression‐molding. The Young's moduli of the nanocomposites thus produced are increased by a factor of up to >50, when compared to the copolymers, whereas the electrical conductivities experience only comparably small reductions upon introduction of the whiskers. The nanocomposite with the best combination of conductivity (1.6 × 10 −4 S/cm at room temperature and a relative humidity of 75%) and Young's modulus (7 MPa) was obtained with a copolymer having an EO‐EPI ratio of 84 : 16, a whisker content of 10% w/w, and a LiClO 4 concentration of 5.8% w/w. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 93: 2883–2888, 2004