Conductivity and discharge characteristic studies of novel polymer electrolyte based on PEO complexed with Mg(NO3)2 salt

Abstract Films of a new ion conducting polymer electrolyte based on polyethylene oxide (PEO) complexed with Mg(NO 3 ) 2 salt have been prepared by a solution-casting technique. The solvation of the salt with PEO has been confirmed by X-ray diffraction studies. dc conductivity and transference number measurements have been done to investigate the order of conductivity and the charge transport in this polymer electrolyte. The transference number measurements have shown that the charge transport in this electrolyte is predominantly due to ions ( t ion ≈ 0.96). The order of conductivity is found to increase with an increase in the concentration of the salt in the polymer and also with an increase of temperature. Using this electrolyte, an electrochemical cell has been fabricated and its discharge characteristics have been studied for different loads. The results show that Mg polymeric electrolytes offer an interesting alternative to lithium systems for RT solid state battery systems.