Electrospun poly (vinylidene fluoride)/poly (methyl methacrylate) composite nanofibers polymer electrolyte for batteries

Due to high dielectric constant and strong chemical and electrochemical resistance, poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVdF) has become a favourable porous polymer electrolyte in lithium-ion batteries. As a semi-crystalline polymer, PVdF contains both an amorphous phase and a crystalline phase. The blending of poly (methyl methacrylate)(PMMA) into electrospun PVdF membranes can increase the ionic conductivity. In this paper, we report the fabrication of nanofibrous polymer electrolyte membrane of PVdF/PMMA composite by electrospinning technique. PVdF/PMMA polymer electrolyte was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR). Electrospun PVdF/PMMA membrane showed a fully interconnected porous structure composed of ultrafine fibers with the diameters in the range of 300-350 nm. FTIR spectra confirmed the miscibility of PMMA with PVdF in the composite PVdF-PMMA fibrous membrane. The observed high porosity (85%) and high electrolyte uptake (285%) of as-synthesized nanofibrous PVdF/PMMA polymer electrolyte improved its ionic conductivity (2.95 x 10(-3) Scm(-1)) at room temperature. Results showed that PVdF-PMMA membrane is of great potential application in polymer batteries. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.