Mg2+ conducting polymer gel electrolytes: physical and electrochemical investigations

In this work, magnesium ion conducting polymer gel electrolytes based on PVdF-HFP and EC/DEC have been prepared using solution casting technique. Physical and electrochemical investigations have been carried out with a view to understand the effect of magnesium triflate salt concentration within the polymer gel electrolyte. The physical investigations include X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy measurements to probe changes in structural/morphological, thermal, and spectroscopic properties. In order to investigate the dielectric behavior of the electrolyte system, real part of the permittivity and dielectric loss are discussed as a function of frequency, salt concentration, as well as temperature. The modulus behavior of the electrolyte system has been studied by plotting the real and imaginary part as a function of frequency and temperature. The reported Mg2+ ion conducting electrolyte offers predominant ionic character with total ion transport number close to unity. Perhaps these magnesium ion conducting polymer gel electrolytes are suitable for application in electrochemical device, especially in magnesium-based batteries.