Synthesis and Characterization of Carboxymethyl κ-Carrageenan for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Application

kappa-Carrageenan is an anionic polymer extracted from marine red algae. In order to increase conductivity of the kappa-carrageenan, carboxymethyl kappa-carrageenan was synthesized by the reaction of kappa-carrageenan with monochloroacetic acid. A polymer electrolyte comprising kappa-carrageenan and carboxymethyl kappa-carrageenan was prepared by solution-casting technique. The films were characterized by Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) to investigate the presence of the complexes. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy was conducted to obtain ionic conductivity. Ionic conductivity was found to increase with the addition of carboxymethyl group on carrageenan. The conductivity achieved for kappa-carrageenan and carboxymethyl kappa-carrageenan were 5.34x10(-7) S cm(-1) and 2.02x10(-4) S cm(-1), respectively.