Volume 129, Issue 4 pp. 1868-1874
Article

Conformational, thermal, and ionic conductivity behavior of PEO in PEO/PMMA miscible blend: Investigating the effect of lithium salt

Mahdi Ghelichi

Mahdi Ghelichi

School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, P.O. Box 11155-4563, Tehran, Iran

Mahdi Ghelichi and Yaser Farajollahi contributed equally to this work.

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Nader Taheri Qazvini

Corresponding Author

Nader Taheri Qazvini

Polymer Division, School of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Tehran, P.O. Box 14155-6455, Tehran, Iran

Polymer Division, School of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Tehran, P.O. Box 14155-6455, Tehran, Iran===Search for more papers by this author
Seyed Hassan Jafari

Seyed Hassan Jafari

School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, P.O. Box 11155-4563, Tehran, Iran

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Hossein Ali Khonakdar

Hossein Ali Khonakdar

Department of Polymer Processing, Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute, P.O. Box 14965-115, Tehran, Iran

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Yaser Farajollahi

Yaser Farajollahi

School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, P.O. Box 11155-4563, Tehran, Iran

Mahdi Ghelichi and Yaser Farajollahi contributed equally to this work.

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Christina Scheffler

Christina Scheffler

Department of Composite Materials, Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, Hohe Str. 6, D-01069, Dresden, Germany

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First published: 24 December 2012
Citations: 76

Abstract

In this research, influence of incorporating LiClO4 salt on the crystallization, conformation, and ionic conductivity of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) in its miscible blend with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is studied. Differential scanning calorimetry showed that the incorporation of salt ions into the blend suppresses the crystallinity of PEO. The X-ray diffraction revealed that the unit-cell parameters of the crystals are independent of the LiClO4 concentration despite of the existence of ionic interactions between PEO and Li cations. In addition, the complexation of the Li+ ions by oxygen atoms of PEO is investigated via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The conformational changes of PEO segments in the presence of salt ions are studied via Raman spectroscopy. It is found that PEO chains in the blend possess a crown-ether like conformation because of their particular complexation with the Li+ ions. This coordination of PEO with lithium cations amorphize the PEO and is accounted for suppressed crystallinity of PEO in the presence of salt ions. Finally, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy is used to characterize the ionic conductivity of PEO in the PEO/PMMA/LiClO4 ternary mixture at various temperatures. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013

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