Studies on polymer electrolyte poly(vinyl) pyrrolidone (PVP) complexed with ionic liquid: Effect of complexation on thermal stability,conductivity and relaxation behaviour

Polymer electrolyte films of PVP + x wt% ionic liquid (IL) (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate EMIM]BF₄]) for x = 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 wt% have been prepared using solution cast technique. These films were characterized by TGA, DSC, FT-IR and ac impedance spectroscopy techniques. From XRD studies it is found that the inclusion of IL increases the amorphocity of polymeric membranes. DSC thermograms show that the glass transition (T_g) and melting temperatures (T_m) of PVP shift upon complexation with IL. FT-IR analysis shows the complexation of PVP with IL. Thermogravimetric studies show that PVP decomposes in a single step while PVP/IL membranes exhibit two step decomposition; lower value of decomposition temperature corresponds to the decomposition of PVP/IL complex while the higher decomposition temperature has been attributed to the decomposition of PVP. The decomposition temperature of PVP/IL complex decreases with the increasing amount of IL in the PVP membrane. Temperature dependence of conductivity and dielectric relaxation frequencies have also been studied for PVP and PVP/IL membranes. Both show thermally activated Arrhenius behaviour.