Radiotracer self-diffusion measurements in poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(propylene oxide) electrolytes

Radiotracer measurements of the ²²Na⁺ and S¹⁴CN^? diffusion coefficients in PEO-NaSCN (x = 6, 8 and 12) and PPO-NaSCN (x = 8) are reported, where PEO = poly(ethylene oxide), PPO = poly(propylene oxide), and x = [EO units]/[NaSCN] or [PO units]/[NaSCN]. The results are compared with ionic conductivity measurements on the same samples. Measurements for the PEO samples were taken above the melting point of pure PEO and the results interpreted, particularly for the sample most dilute in salt, in terms of ‘free ions’ as the dominant charge carriers. For PPO the results are less clear, although there is good evidence for the onset of ion aggregation prior to separation of salt at higher temperatures.     

Electrical conductivity in ionic complexes of poly(ethylene oxide)

The temperature dependence of d.c. conductivity of poly(ethylene oxide) complexes with sodium iodide and the thiocyanates of sodium, potassium and ammonium has been investigated. In each case a transition to a lower activation energy at higher temperatures was observed. For the sodium complexes this transition occurs at ca 55°C which is well below the crystalline melting points at 200°C. For the potassium and ammonium complexes however, the transitions coincide with the melting points at ca 100 and 70°C respectively. It is proposed that at the transitions, thermal disintegration of complexes in the amorphous regions occurs. The complexes involve coordination of the cations to the ether oxygen atoms in the polymer backbone.     

Polymer chain organization in tensile-stretched poly(ethylene oxide)-based polymer electrolytes

Polymer chain orientation in tensile-stretched poly(ethylene oxide)-lithium trifluoromethanesulfonate polymer electrolytes are investigated with polarized infrared spectroscopy as a function of the degree of strain and salt composition (ether oxygen atom to lithium ion ratios of 20:1, 15:1, and 10:1). The 1359 and 1352 cm(-1) bands are used to probe the crystalline PEO and P(EO)(3)LiCF(3)SO(3) domains, respectively, allowing a direct comparison of chain orientation for the two phases. Two-dimensional correlation FT-IR spectroscopy indicates that the two crystalline domains align at the same rate as the polymer electrolytes are stretched. Quantitative measurements of polymer chain orientation obtained through dichroic infrared spectroscopy show that chain orientation predominantly occurs between strain values of 150% and 250%, regardless of salt composition investigated. There are few changes in chain orientation for either phase when the films are further elongated to a strain of 300%; however, the PEO domains are slightly more oriented at the high strain values. The spectroscopic data are consistent with stretching-induced melt-recrystallization of the unoriented crystalline domains in the solution-cast polymer films. Stretching the films pulls polymer chains from the crystalline domains, which subsequently recrystallize with the polymer helices parallel to the stretch direction. If lithium ion conduction in crystalline polymer electrolytes is viewed as consisting of two major components (facile intra-chain lithium ion conduction and slow helix-to-helix inter-grain hopping), then alignment of the polymer helices will affect the ion conduction pathways for these materials by reducing the number of inter-grain hops required to migrate through the polymer electrolyte.     

Nanocomposite polymer electrolytes containing silica nanoparticles: Comparison between poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(ethylene oxide) dimethyl ether

Nanocomposite polymer electrolytes consisting of low molecular weight poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), iodine salt MI (M = K⁺, imidazolium⁺), and fumed silica nanoparticles have been prepared and characterized. The effect of terminal group in PEO, i.e., hydroxyl (? OH) and methyl (CH₃) using poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and PEO dimethyl ether (PEODME), respectively, was investigated on the interactions, structures, and ionic conductivities of polymer electrolytes. Wide angle X‐ray scattering (WAXS), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and complex viscositymeasurements clearly showed that the gelation of PEG electrolytes occurred more effectively than that of PEODME electrolytes. It was attributed to the fact that the hydroxyl groups of PEG participated in the hydrogen‐bonding interaction between silica nanoparticles, and consequently helped to accelerate the gelation reaction, as confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy. Because of its interaction, the ionic conductivities of PEG electrolytes (maximum value ～ 6.9 × 10^?4 S/cm) were lower than that of PEODME electrolytes (2.3 × 10^?3 S/cm). © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2007     

Crystallization of poly(ethylene oxide) in i-polypropylene–poly(ethylene oxide) blends

A two-stage stable system of isotactic polypropylene–poly(ethylene oxide) blend, in which poly(ethylene oxide) can be permanent either in molten or in crystallized states in the temperature range from 280 to 327 K, was described. The behavior of that blend was explained in terms of fractionated crystallization. A fine dispersion of poly(ethylene oxide) inclusions is required for efficient suppression of crystallization initiated by heterogeneous nuclei. The application of a thin film of polypropylene-poly(ethylene oxide) 9 : 1 blend obtained by quenching for multiuse erasable and rewritable carriers for visible information has been demonstrated. The same sample exhibits different dynamic mechanical properties when poly(ethylene oxide) inclusions are molten or crystallized. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 66: 2047–2057, 1997     

Structural characterization of new poly(ethylene oxide)-based alkaline solid polymer electrolytes

A new class of alkaline solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) based on poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), potassium hydroxide (KOH), and water was investigated. The structure of the SPEs was studied by differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction, and optical microscopy techniques. The existence of a crystalline complex between PEO, KOH, and H₂O was evidenced for some compositions, depending on the O/K ratio. A possible structure was proposed, and a schematic phase diagram was established for this PEO–KOH–H₂O system. The first conductivity measurements also revealed the great interest of these systems, with conductivity values up to 10^-3 S/cm. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 65:601–607, 1997     

Heterobifunctional poly(ethylene oxide)

Summary Well-defined poly(ethylene oxide)s with a primary amino group at one end and a hydroxyl group at the other terminus were synthesized with new sila-protected amino functionality initiator, potassium N-[2-(2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-1-aza-2,5-disilacyclopentyl)-ethyl]methyl amide [1b]. 1b initiated an anionic polymerization of ethylene oxide (EO) to form a polymer (PEO) without any side reactions such as a cleavage reaction of protective group and a chain transfer reaction. The molecular weights of the PEO determined from GPC and MALDI TOF-MS spectrometry agreed well with those from end group analysis using ¹H and ¹³C NMR and TLC and also with the expected value from EO/initiator ratio. From these results, it was concluded that the polymers thus obtained had a primary amino group at one end and a hydroxy group at the other end and can be regarded as hetrobifunctional PEO.     

Ionic transport behavior in poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) and LiClO4 complex

The effect of LiClO₄ on the ionic transport behavior in poly(ethylene oxide)₂₀-poly(propylene oxide)₇₀-poly(ethylene oxide)₂₀ (P123) polymer electrolyte was studied. Its conductivity reaches maximum as molar ratio between ether O atoms and lithium ions [n(O)/n(Li)] equals 8. The results show that LiClO₄ could interact with P123 well and has impacts on polymer organization and chain dynamics. As LiClO₄ concentration decreases, the glass transition temperature (T_g) decreases and the free ion percentage increases. The tendency of conductivity with LiClO₄ concentration is the result of competing effects between polymer chain mobility and free charge carrier concentration.     

Electric double layer capacitors with gelled polymer electrolytes based on poly(ethylene oxide) cured with poly(propylene oxide) diamines

Using a gel electrolyte for electric double layer capacitors usually encountered a drawback of poor contact between the electrolyte and the electrode surface. A gel electrolyte consisting of poly(ethylene oxide) crosslinked with poly(propylene oxide) as a host, propylene carbonate (PC) as a plasticizer, and LiClO₄ as a electrolytic salt was synthesized for double layer capacitors. Diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A was blended with the polymer precursors to enhance the mechanical properties and increase the internal free volume. This gel electrolyte showed an ionic conductivity as high as 2 × 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ at 25 °C and was electrochemically stable over a wide potential range (ca. 5 V). By sandwiching this gel-electrolyte film with two activated carbon cloth electrodes (1100 m² g⁻¹ in surface area), we obtained a capacitor with a specific capacitance of 86 F g⁻¹ discharged at 0.5 mA cm⁻², while the capacitance was 82 F g⁻¹ for a capacitor equipped with a liquid electrolyte of 1 M LiClO₄/PC. The capacitance decrease with the current density was less significant for the gel-electrolyte capacitor. We found that the less restricted ion diffusion near the electrolyte/electrode interface led to the smaller overall resistance of the gel-electrolyte capacitor. The high performance of the gel-electrolyte capacitor has demonstrated that the developed polymer network not only facilitated ion motion in the electrolyte bulk phase but also gave an intimate contact with the carbon surface. The side chains of the polymer in the amorphous phase could stretch across the boundary layer at the electrolyte/electrode interface to come into contact with the carbon surface, thus improving transport of Li⁺ ions by the segmental mobility in polymer.     

Ionic conductivity studies of poly(ethylene oxide)-lithium salt electrolytes in high-pressure carbon dioxide

We have measured ionic conductivity of PEO-LiX [anion X=N(CF₃SO₂)₂ (TFSI), ClO₄, CF₃SO₃, BF₄, NO₃, and CH₃SO₃] polymer electrolytes in CO₂ at pressures varied from 0.1 to 20 MPa. From the temperature dependence in supercritical CO₂, a large increase in the conductivity for PEO-LiBF₄ and LiCF₃SO₃ electrolytes has been observed. Permeation of the CO₂ molecules gave rise to the plasticization for crystal domains in the electrolytes, which is related to the reduction in transition point of the Arrhenius plot corresponding to the melting of crystal PEO. Relation between the conductivity and CO₂ reduced density revealed that the electrolytes containing fluorinated anions such as ‘CO₂-philic’ BF₄ and CF₃SO₃ increase in the conductivity with increasing the density. This indicates that the salt dissociation was promoted by the CO₂ permeation and the Lewis acid-base interactions between fluorinated anions and CO₂ molecules.     

Raman scattering from mixtures of poly(ethylene oxide) 2000 with poly(ethylene oxide) 200

The longitudinal acoustic mode fundamental (v₁) and third harmonic (v₃) in 2000 MW PEO with both hydroxy- and methody-end-groups have been observed in the Raman spectrum as a function of 200 MW PEO oligomer content. Measurements of small-angle X-ray spacing I_x permit interpretation using a composite rod model. A good fit to the measured quantities v₁I_x and $\text{v}{}_3\text{v}{}_1$ is obtained with crystal length I_c≈9 nm, crystal modulus $\text{E}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>c</mtext>}}\text{= 9 ×}\text{10}{}^{10}\text{N}\text{m}{}^2$ and amorphous modulus $\text{E}{}_{\mathrm{a}}\text{= 1 ×}\text{10}{}^{10}\text{N}\text{m}{}^2$. The value of Ic implies a crystalline content of ～70% for the pure polymer; the value of Ec is larger than static determinations and similar discrepancies in other materials are discussed.     

Miscibility of polystyrene with poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(ethylene glycol)

The intrinsic viscosity of polystyrene–poly(ethylene oxide) (PS–PEO) and PS–poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) blends have been measured in benzene as a function of blend composition for various molecular weights of PEO and PEG at 303.15 K. The compatibility of polymer pairs in solution were determined on the basis of the interaction parameter term, Δb, and the difference between the experimental and theoretical weight-average intrinsic viscosities of the two polymers, Δ[η]. The theoretical weight-average intrinsic viscosities were calculated by interpolation of the individual intrinsic viscosities of the blend components. The compatibility data based on [η] determined by a single specific viscosity measurement, as a quick method for the determination of the intrinsic viscosity, were compared with that obtained from [η] determined via the Huggins equation. The effect of molecular weights of the blend components and the polymer structure on the extent of compatibility was studied. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 69: 1471–1482, 1998     

Crosslinked poly(ethylene oxide) hydrogels

Poly(ethylene oxide) with a molecular weight of 2,000,000 was crosslinked by a difunctional peroxide in the molten state. We determined the molecular weight between crosslinks by swelling the samples with deionized water and by indentation and dynamic mechanical analysis. Results were compared with the calculated optimum molecular weight between crosslinks. Fair agreement was obtained between the experimental methods. However, the efficiency of peroxide‐induced crosslinking was very low. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 1451–1455, 2003     

Morphology and ionic conductivity of some lithium ion complexes with poly(ethylene oxide)

Deposition of LiBF₄-PEO crystalline complexes from methanol gives a material (phase II) melting at ～340K while deposition from acetone-chloroform mixtures gives a material with a melting point of ～433K (phase I). Both materials have the same 1:4 stoichiometry (Li⁺:ethylene oxide) and each gives the same wide-angle X-ray scattering pattern though phase II has the broader reflections. The observations are interpreted in terms of a double helical model with long sequences of the same helical sense for phase I, but with less long range order and frequent reversals of helical sense for phase II. The presence of both phases in LiCF₃SO₃ complexes is attributed to the contribution of the anion towards complex stability in methanol. The conductivities of the semicrystalline materials are compared with those of amorphous PEO gels complexed with LiBF₄. The highest ambient temperature conductivities are obtained from complexed gels.     

Crystallization of block poly(ethylene oxide)

Urethane linked block polymers of poly(ethylene oxide) have been prepared and fractionated. Samples having 1 to 20 blocks per molecule, with molecular weights ranging from 1500 to 67 000 g/mol, have been examined by a number of techniques (small-angle X-ray scattering, differential scanning calorimetry, dilatometry, optical microscopy) in order to determine their crystallinities, melting points and spherulite growth rates. For a series of fractions having an average block length of 34 oxyethylene units with a range of 3 to 20 blocks per molecule, we find that equilibrium melting points are practically independent of molecular weight ($\text{6000 <}\text{M}\text{?}{}_{\mathrm{W}}\text{< 40 000}$). Analysis of the temperature dependence of the spherulite growth rates of these fractions leads to the conclusion that the pre-exponential factor (G₀) is practically independent of molecular weight and that the end interfacial free energy (σ_e) increases with molecular weight. Analysis of the experimental results for series of fractions having average block lengths of 45 or of 90 oxyethylene units is complicated by chain folding in the crystalline lamellae.     

Preparation and characterization of poly(lactic acid)/poly(ethylene oxide) blend film: effects of poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(ethylene glycol) on the properties

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) film plasticized with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) at various weight percentages (1–5 wt%) was prepared to improve the elongation, thus overcoming the inherent brittleness of the material. After optimization of the amount of PEO (4 wt%) through mechanical analysis, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), a well‐established plasticizer of PLA, was added (0.5–1.5 wt%) without hampering the transparency and tensile strength much, and again its amount was optimized (1 wt%). Neat PLA and PLA with the other components were solvent‐cast in the form of films using chloroform as a solvent. Improvement in elongation at break and reduction in tensile strength suggested a plasticizing effect of both PEO and PEG on PLA. Thermal and infrared data revealed that the addition of PEO induced β crystals in PLA. Scanning electron micrographs indicated a porous surface morphology of the blends. PEO alone in PLA exhibited the best optical clarity with higher percentage crystallinity, while PEG incorporation in PLA/PEO resulted in superior barrier properties. Also, the stability of the blends under a wide range of pH means prospective implementation of the films in packaging of food and non‐food‐grade products. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry     

Electrostatic self-assembly of thermally responsive zwitterionic poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) and poly(ethylene oxide) modified with ionic groups

The electrostatic self-assembly of thermally responsive copolymers of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) containing up to 10 mol% of the sulfobetaine monomer 3-[N-(3-methacrylamidopropyl)-N,N-dimethyl]ammoniopropane sulfonate) (SPP) and poly(ethylene oxide) modified with terminal cationic or anionic groups (IMPEO) was studied in methanol and aqueous solutions by static light scattering, turbidimetry, viscometry, and rheological measurements. The formation of graft-like complexes at stoichiometric dipole-ion ratio and their self-association was detected in the dilute and semidilute regime at temperatures below and above the lower critical solution temperature (LCST). The ability of the graft-like complexes to associate below the LCST depended on the sulfobetaine content of the copolymers, the functionality of IMPEO, and the polymer concentration. The effect of the IMPEO terminal group on the solution behavior of the graft-like complexes was less pronounced. With increasing temperature their semidilute aqueous solutions form gels, stable over a wide temperature range.     

Aggregate formation in poly(ethylene oxide) solutions

Static light scattering and viscosity measurements were performed on different molecular weight poly (ethylene oxide) to see the formation of aggregates in its dilute solutions. Viscosity measurements were carried out for PEO samples in water and methanol at 20–45°C and in chloroform at 20–30°C. Using Huggin's equation, the viscosity plots showed distinct upward curvature indicating the presence of aggregates in both PEO/H₂O and PEO/CH₃OH solutions The [η] values for PEO/H₂O and PEO/CH₃OH system were 2–4 times as large as observed for other linear flexible polymers in good solvents thus showing extensive coil swelling/aggregation. This is also apparent from the exponent a values of the Mark–Houwink–Sakurada equation. Light Scattering results using Zimm method showed that aggregation occurred in low molecular weight samples; however, in higher molecular weight samples there was a little evidence for aggregation both in water and methanol. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 2578–2583, 2006     

Blending thermoplastic polyurethanes and poly(ethylene oxide) for composite electrolytes via a mixture design approach

With the aim of obtaining proper composite electrolytes, a systematic modeling analysis for the percentage increase in weight due to swelling with respect to swollen weight, S_w, and the room temperature conductivity (σ₂₅) of the composite films of polyethylene glycol based thermoplastic polyurethane/polytetramethylene glycol based thermoplastic polyurethane/polyethylene oxide [denoted as TPU(PEG)/TPU(PTMG)/PEO] was performed. Using a mixture design approach, empirical models are fitted and plotted as contour diagrams which facilitate revealing the synergistic/antagonistic effects among the mixed polymers. The contour plot results show that both the maximum S_w (64.9%) and the maximum σ₂₅ (72.2 × 10⁻⁵ S cm⁻¹) appear at point X₃ (PEO 85%, TPU(PEG) 15%). The results are reasonably explained from the interactions among polymers on the basis of their molecular structures. The thermal analysis of the composite films is performed to demonstrate the speculations about the interactions among the mixed polymers by using differential scanning calorimeter. The crystallization of PEO spherulites at different compositions was examined by using a polarizing microscope. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 77: 680–692, 2000