Influence of thermal treatment on the properties and intermolecular interactions of epoxidized natural rubber-salt systems

The influence of thermal treatment on the thermal stability, thermal properties, dielectric properties and intermolecular interaction of binary epoxidized natural rubber (ENR)-salt systems, which may be a candidate for solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) was investigated. Solubility of salt in ENR enhances, which may be due to the disruption of the lightly-crosslinked microgel under heat treatment. The increase in the ionic conductivities of the thermally treated ENR SPEs at constant salt content is correlated to the higher glass transition temperatures, development of percolation network and higher extent of intermolecular interactions between ENR and charged entities in this study.