Resorcinol-Formaldehyde (RF) as a Novel Plasticizer for Starch-Based Solid Biopolymer Electrolyte

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Electrochemistry

Background:

• Biodegradable polymer electrolytes are crucial for sustainable energy storage.
• Developing efficient and stable electrolytes remains a key challenge in battery technology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize a novel starch-based biodegradable polymer electrolyte membrane.
• To investigate the effect of resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) crosslinking on the properties of starch-lithium triflate (LiTf) electrolytes.
• To evaluate the ionic conductivity and structural properties of the developed membranes.

Main Methods:

• Solution casting technique for membrane synthesis.
• X-ray diffraction (XRD) for crystallinity analysis.
• Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for chemical interaction analysis.
• Ionic conductivity measurements at room temperature.

Main Results:

• Successful synthesis of a starch-resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF)-lithium triflate (LiTf) polymer electrolyte membrane.
• RF crosslinking significantly reduced starch crystallinity, leading to increased amorphous regions.
• The starch:LiTf:RF (20:20:60 wt.%) composition achieved a maximum room-temperature conductivity of 4.29 × 10^-4 S cm^-1.
• FTIR spectra confirmed chemical complexation between starch, LiTf, and RF components.

Conclusions:

• The developed biodegradable polymer electrolyte exhibits promising ionic conductivity due to suppressed crystallinity and increased amorphous content.
• RF acts as an effective plasticizer, enhancing ion transport in the starch-LiTf matrix.
• This material holds potential for use in eco-friendly energy storage devices.