Substantial Proton Ion Conduction in Methylcellulose/Pectin/Ammonium Chloride Based Solid Nanocomposite Polymer...

In this research, nanocomposite solid polymer electrolytes (NCSPEs) comprising methylcellulose/pectin (MC/PC) blend as host polymer, ammonium chloride (NH₄Cl) as an ion source, and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) as nanofillers were synthesized via a solution cast methodology. Techniques such as Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) were employed to characterize the electrolyte. FTIR confirmed that the polymers, NH₄Cl salt, and ZnO nanofiller interact with one another appreciably. EIS demonstrated the feasibility of achieving a conductivity of 3.13 × 10^-4 Scm^-1 for the optimum electrolyte at room temperature. Using the dielectric formalism technique, the dielectric properties, energy modulus, and relaxation time of NH₄Cl in MC/PC/NH₄Cl and MC/PC/NH₄Cl/ZnO systems were determined. The contribution of chain dynamics and ion mobility was acknowledged by the presence of a peak in the imaginary portion of the modulus study. The LSV measurement yielded 4.55 V for the comparatively highest conductivity NCSPE.