N Sandhya Rani, J Sannappa, T Demappa and Mahadevaiah
The present study was undertaken to characterize the ionic conduction behavior, structural and thermal properties of Solid polymer electrolyte films based on Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) complexed with Sodium Iodide (NaI) upon gamma irradiation with different doses of 20, 60 and 100KGy. The dissolution of the salt into the polymer host and the structural properties of pure and NaI complexed HPMC polymer electrolyte films before and after irradiation with different doses were confirmed by X – Ray diffraction (XRD) studies. The XRD results revealed that the amorphous domains of HPMC polymer matrix was increased with increase in the NaI salt concentration and with the increasing dose and the percentage of crystallanity is found to be high in pristine unirradiated HPMC films. The thermal properties of pure, unirradiated and irradiated complexed electrolyte films were studied using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). It is observed that the total enthalpy of fusion ( ) is maximum for unirradiated pristine HPMC films. The variation of film morphology was examined by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Fourier transform infrared spectral (FTIR) studies for pure, unirradiated and irradiated complexed HPMC films revealed the vibrational changes that occurred due to the effect of dopant salt in the polymer. Direct current (dc) conductivity was measured in the temperature range of 313–383K. The magnitude of conductivity was found to increase with the increase in the concentration of the salt, temperature and for higher doses of radiation. The composition HPMC: NaI (5:4) is found to exhibit the least crystallanity and the highest conductivity.
