Plasticizing effect of K+ ions and succinonitrile on electrical conductivity of [poly(ethylene oxide)-succinonitrile]/KI-I2 redox-couple solid polymer electrolyte.

The plasticizing effect of the K(+) ions and succinonitrile on the electrical conductivity of a new redox-couple solid polymer electrolyte system, (1 - x)[0.5poly(ethylene oxide):0.5succinonitrile]:x[0.9KI:0.1I2] with x = 0-0.2 in weight fraction, is reported. An increase of x resulted in an increase of the electrical conductivity (σ25°C) of the electrolyte. The electrolyte with x = 0.15 exhibited the highest σ25°C value, ~7 × 10(-4) S cm(-1), and is referred to as the optimum conducting composition (OCC). In addition to an increase of the mobile ion concentration with increasing x, X-ray diffractometry, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, polarized optical microscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry studies revealed a decrease of poly(ethylene oxide) crystallinity/an increase of ionic mobility, indicating the plasticizing effect of the K(+) ions. Plasticizing and molecular diffusing properties of the succinonitrile further helped to improve the electrical conductivity of the electrolyte.