Polymer blend based solid electrolyte membranes for fully solid state sodium ion cell applications

Research work carried out to develop solid electrolyte (SE) membranes with advantageous characteristics of enhanced ionic conductivity and geometric flexibility for the generation of sodium ion cells with fully solid state architecture, constitutes the prime focus of the present paper. Blend solutions of poly ethylene oxide (PEO) with polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF) which are complexed with various concentrations of sodium nitrate solution are made use of to grow freestanding, transparent and flexible SE membranes using the technique of casting from solution. Structural, morphological and electrochemical characterizations of these SE membranes are conducted, utilizing XRD, FE-SEM, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry techniques. For the membrane with 15 weight % of NaNO3 used for reacting with the polymer blend of PEO with PVdF, ionic conductivity calculated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy is around 2.34 x 10-6 S cm-1. From cyclic voltammetry experiment, remarkably wide electrochemical steadiness window up to 5 V has been detected, giving additional emphasis for the impressive electrochemical behaviour of these SE membranes. Polymer based, solid electrolyte membranes of the present studies offer application prospects in developing fully solid state sodium ion cells. Copyright (C) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Second International Conference on Engineering Materials, Metallurgy and Manufacturing.