Ionic conductivity investigation of [bmim]Cl/polystyrene film as polymer electrolyte prepared by a versatile ionic liquid based microemulsion method

Due to their surprising properties, ionic liquids (ILs) are attracting considerable attention in many areas of chemistry and industry. Among these properties, ILs can play an important role in polymer electrolytes due to their excellent ionic conductivity up to their decomposition temperature. In this study, IL/poly(methyl methacrylate) composites were prepared as a polymer electrolyte with excellent ionic conductivity in IL-based microemulsion. Hydrophilic ionic liquid, [bmim]Cl), was used to prepare the IL/polymer composite. The [bmim]Cl/polystyrene membrane composite was characterized by AFM technique. After the addition of 2.5 wt.% [bmim]Cl in the microemulsion formulation, at 150 °C produced [bmim]Cl/polystyrene with the highest ionic conductivity, 5.7 × 10-3 S/cm. It was concluded that the addition of hydrophylic [bmim]Cl ionic liquid increased ionic conductivity and interface stability at the solid [bmim]Cl/polystyrene film. The resulting IL/polymer composites shouldhave potential as polymer electrolytes and can be used in fuel cell.