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Improvement of the Structural and Electrical Properties of the Proton-Conducting PVA-NH4NO3 Solid Polymer Electrolyte System by Incorporating Nanosized Anatase TiO2 Single-Crystal

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Abstract

A proton-conducting nanocomposite polymer electrolyte (NCPE) system, based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as the host polymer and ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) as the proton source, has been prepared with different concentrations of nanosized titanium dioxide (TiO2) by solution casting. The changes in the structural features related to the electrical properties have been studied using XRD analysis, which revealed that the NCPE sample with 8 wt.% TiO2 NPs exhibits the highest amorphous content. The addition of single-crystal TiO2 NPs to the proton-conducting polymer electrolyte has resulted in a remarkable enhancement of the ionic conductivity of the system. A maximum DC conductivity of 5.52 × 10−3 S cm−1 at 303 K has been achieved for the NCPE containing 8 wt.% of TiO2 NPs. The temperature-dependent ionic conductivity was displayed in a typical Vogel–Tammann–Fulcher-type equation, indicating a direct correlation between ionic conductivity and segmental movements of the PVA chains. The AC conductivity spectra of NCPEs have been studied in terms of the universal power law of Jonscher, and the dielectric relaxation phenomenon was analyzed using electric modulus formalism to assess if the relaxation is Debye or non-Debye type.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the staff members of the Advanced Materials Research Laboratory at the Physics Department, the University of Sulaimani, for providing the facilitates for this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Advanced Materials Research Lab., Department of Physics, College of Science, University of Sulaimani, Kurdistan Region, 46001, Iraq

    Omed Gh. Abdullah

  2. Department of Physics, College of Science, University of Halabja, Kurdistan Region, 46006, Iraq

    Bakhan S. Mustafa

  3. Department of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Anbar, Ramadi, 31001, Iraq

    Shahbaa F. Bdewi

  4. Department of General Science, College of Education and Language, Charmo University, Chamchamal, Sulaimani, Kurdistan Region, 46023, Iraq

    Hawzhin T. Ahmed

  5. Department of Physics, College of Education, University of Sulaimani, Kurdistan Region, 46001, Iraq

    Azhin H. Mohamad

  6. Department of Physics, College of Science, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, 10001, Iraq

    Mahdi H. Suhail

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  1. Omed Gh. Abdullah
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Abdullah, O.G., Mustafa, B.S., Bdewi, S.F. et al. Improvement of the Structural and Electrical Properties of the Proton-Conducting PVA-NH4NO3 Solid Polymer Electrolyte System by Incorporating Nanosized Anatase TiO2 Single-Crystal. J. Electron. Mater. 52, 3921–3930 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-023-10399-6

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