CONDUCTIVITY STUDIES OF (PEO +KHCO3) SOLID ELECTROLYTE SYSTEM AND ITS APPLICATION AS AN ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL

Solid polymer electrolyte system, polyethylene oxide (PEO) complexed with potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3) salt was prepared by solution-cast technique. Several experimental techniques such as infrared radiation (IR), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), and composition dependence conductivity, temperature dependence conductivity in the temperature range of 308–368 K and transport number measurements were employed to characterize this polymer electrolyte system. The conductivity of the (PEO+KHCO3) electrolyte was found to be about 3 times larger than that of pure PEO at room temperature. The transference data indicated that the charge transport in these polymer electrolyte systems is predominantly due to K+ ions. Using this polymer electrolyte an electrochemical cell with configuration K+/(PEO+KHCO3)/(I2+C+electrolyte) was fabricated and its discharge characteristics are studied. A number of other cell parameters associated with the cell were evaluated and are reported in this paper