Investigation on Al₂O₃ doped PVC–PBMA blend polymer electrolytes

Composite polymer electrolytes comprising of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), poly(butyl methacrylate) (PBMA), lithium perchlorate (LiClO₄), ethylene carbonate (EC) and with different ratios of aluminium oxide (Al₂O₃) are prepared by solution casting technique and characterized. Structural and complex formations are confirmed from XRD and FTIR studies. Conductivity studies were carried out and found that as the Al₂O₃ concentration increases the conductivity is found to increase initially and then decrease after certain concentration. The room temperature ionic conductivity of polymer electrolyte film bereft of Al₂O₃ is found to be 0.116 mS cm⁻¹ which increases to 0.712 mS cm⁻¹ in electrolyte membranes with 10 wt% of Al₂O₃. Dielectric behaviour (ε′ and ε″) for the composite polymer electrolytes was found to decreases with increase in frequency due to existence of electrode polarization effect. The high dielectric constant and low dielectric modulus are observed for 10 wt% of Al₂O₃ incorporated PVC–PBMA composite polymer electrolyte compared to other Al₂O₃ concentrations. The morphology of polymer electrolyte membranes were studied by scanning electron microscope.