Open Access

ARTICLE

Influence of LiCF₃SO₃ on the Conductivity and Other Characteristics of Methylcellulose/PVA Blend-Based Electrolytes

Nurrul Asyiqin Shamsuri¹, Zamil Khairuddin², Muhamad Hafiz Hamsan³, Norhana Abdul Halim⁴, Mohd Fakhrul Zamani Kadir^1,5, Muhammad Fadhlullah Shukur^6,7,*

1 Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia
2 Laboratory Management, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar, 32610, Malaysia
3 Pusat Pengajian Citra Universiti, Jalan Temuan, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, 43600, Malaysia
4 Department of Physics, Centre for Defence Foundation Studies, National Defence University of Malaysia, Sungai Besi Camp, Kuala Lumpur, 57000, Malaysia
5 Universiti Malaya Centre for Ionic Liquid (UMCiL), Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia
6 Department of Applied Science, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar, 32610, Malaysia
7 Centre of Innovative Nanostructure and Nanodevices (COINN), Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar, 32610, Malaysia

* Corresponding Author: Muhammad Fadhlullah Shukur. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Innovative Smart Polymeric Materials for Sustainable Energy Solutions: Bridging Advances in Energy and Biomedical Applications)

Journal of Polymer Materials 2025, 42(3), 729-742. https://doi.org/10.32604/jpm.2025.069060

Received 13 June 2025; Accepted 20 August 2025; Issue published 30 September 2025

Abstract

Polymeric materials have emerged as a promising alternative to electrolytic solutions in energy storage applications. However, high crystallinity and poor ionic conductivity are the main barriers restricting their daily application. In this study, we propose a polymer electrolyte system consisting of methylcellulose-polyvinyl alcohol (MC-PVA) blend as host material and lithium trifluoromethanesulfonate (LiCF₃SO₃) as dopant, which was prepared using the solution-casting method. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis revealed a maximum conductivity of 5.42 × 10⁻⁶ S cm⁻¹ with 40 wt.% LiCF₃SO₃. The key findings demonstrated that the variation in the dielectric loss (ε_i) and dielectric constant (ε_r) was significantly correlated with the variation in ionic conductivity. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis was done to analyse the salt-polymer interaction by observing the shifting of selected bands. By deconvoluting FTIR spectra in the wavenumber range of 970–1100 cm⁻¹, transport properties of electrolytes were investigated and found to be improved when the salt concentration was increased to 40 wt.%. Results from the X-ray diffraction (XRD) study suggested that the higher salt concentration promoted the formation of an amorphous phase, which is favourable for ionic conduction. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) study demonstrated that the addition of salt altered the surface morphology of MC-PVA.

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