Effect of ZrO2 Nanoparticles on Electrical Conductivity of PVA/PVP Polymer Blend Doped with Ammonium Iodide

This work reports the properties of solid polymer electrolyte films obtained via incorporating varying amounts of ZrO2 nanoparticles into the PVA/PVP polymer blend with ammonium iodide salt. Material synthesis was done by the solution casting technique. Frequency dependent impedance and conductivity parameters of polymer electrolyte films were investigated at different temperatures (303K-353K) using impedance spectroscopy. The results of ionic conductivity of prepared polymer blend samples at various temperatures were studied with the help of Cole-Cole plots and detected that the bulk resistance of the composites electrolytes decreased with nanofiller concentrations and the conductivity is increased with rise of filler concentration. The maximum ionic conductivity at room temperature was 2.73 X 10(-4) S cm1 and it is optimum for 0.5wt% ZrO2 nanoparticles doped in the polymer blend. From XRD studies it was observed that, there is an increase in amorphous phase in prepared polymer blend films with the addition of nanoparticles. The FTIR studies reveal the functional groups present in the prepared polymer blend electrolyte samples. And also observed the enhancement in conductivity of all samples with rise of temperature.