Structural and Electrical Studies of Chitosan: Polyvinyl Alcohol with Blend Polymer Electrolyte Doped with Potassium Iodide

The technique of solution casting was employed to produce a flexible and uniform blend polymer electrolyte film (BPE) comprising Chitosan (Cs): polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) doped with potassium iodide (KI) at varying concentrations (X= 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%). X-ray diffraction (XRD) was utilized to examine the structural characteristics of the BPE and assess their crystallinity and amorphous nature. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to identify the functional groups and ensure the homogeneous mixing of PVA/CS/KI. The electrical properties of the BPE were assessed to determine the capacitance and potential window using cyclic voltammetry (CV). It was observed that the BPE doped with 20% KI (sample PCK20) exhibited a highly crystalline nature and demonstrated the highest capacitance of BPE 449.1 pF. The potential window for the BPE ranged from 1.45 V to 2 V. These BPE materials show potential for use in environmentally friendly energy storage applications. The acquired results show good crystallinity, potential stability, and capacitance as evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), and they could be beneficial for energy storage applications.