Improving Ionic Conductivity of Carboxymethyl Cellulose Solid Biopolymer Electrolyte with Assist from Dimethyl Carbonate

Ionic conductivity is one of the important properties for an electrolyte to be considered before it can used as practical application in energy storage. Therefore, this study aims to improve the ionic conductivity of solid biopolymer electrolyte (SBE) based on carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) doped with ammonium acetate (AA) by incorporating plasticizer, namely, dimethyl carbonate (DMC). The SBEs were prepared using solution casting technique. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) was used to as certain the complexation among CMC, AA and DMC. From FTIR analysis, DMC is believed to have created new pathways for ionic conduction. The electrical properties of SBEs were investigated using Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). The highest conducting value achieved for the plasticized system was4.27×10-5S cm-1for sample containing 10 wt% DMC. Dielectric analysis revealed that frequency and plasticizer content affect the dielectric constant value. By employing Transference Number Measurement (TNM), the charge transport in the SBE system proved to be predominantly ions where DMC 10 has the highest tion(0.95). Overall, addition of 10 wt% of DMC has the best electrical properties.