Preparation and electrical characterization of polymer electrolytes: A review

Abstract Polymers have received much attention as materials for hosting ionic conduction. Polymer electrolytes have been applied in sensors, solar cells, batteries and supercapacitors. Two types of polymers have been used; synthetic and natural polymers. This article discusses solid and gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs). Solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) exhibit low ionic conductivity. GPEs have the benefits of both solid and liquid electrolytes and the conductivity is higher. In this article, we have discussed methods of polymer electrolyte characterization that include ac impedance spectroscopy, transference number measurements and linear sweep voltammetry. Two methods will be described for the determination of transport parameters that have influenced on ionic conductivity i.e. broadband dielectric response and the method of fitting impedance of an equivalent circuit to the Nyquist plot obtained for a particular sample.