Ionic conductivity studies of poly(vinyl alcohol) alkaline solid polymer electrolyte and its use in nickel–zinc cells

• Published in: Solid state ionics Vol. 156; no. 1; pp. 171 - 177
• Main Authors: Mohamad, A.A, Mohamed, N.S, Yahya, M.Z.A, Othman, R, Ramesh, S, Alias, Y, Arof, A.K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 2003
• Subjects: Alkaline solid polymer electrolyte; Nickel–zinc cell; Poly(vinyl alcohol); Potassium hydroxide; Poly(vinyl alcohol); Potassium hydroxide; Alkaline solid polymer electrolyte; Nickel–zinc cell
• ISSN: 0167-2738; 1872-7689
• DOI: 10.1016/S0167-2738(02)00617-3

X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern reveals that potassium hydroxide (KOH) disrupts the crystalline nature of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-based polymer electrolytes and converts them into an amorphous phase. The PVA–KOH alkaline solid polymer electrolyte (ASPE) system with PVA/KOH wt.% ratio of 60:40 exhibits the highest room temperature ionic conductivity of 8.5×10 −4 S cm −1. This electrolyte was used in the fabrication of a nickel–zinc (Ni–Zn) cell. The cell was charged at a constant current of 10 mA for 1 h providing it with 1.6 V. The cell was cycled 100 times. At the end of the last cycle, the cell still contained a capacity of 5.5 mA h.