Evaluation of Conducting Properties of Biopolymer Electrolyte K-Carrageenan with The Effect of Three Different Ammonium Salts

Abstract

In the present work kappa-carrageenan (KC) with different ammonium salts NH4Cl, NH4Br, and NH4I membrane were successfully synthesized by the solution casting technique. The prepared eco-friendly membrane is subjected to ionic conductivity study, XRD study, transference number studies, and then it’s compared. The ionic conductivity value for KC with 200 mg NH4Cl is 1.81× 10-4 S/cm, KC with 300 mg NH4Br is 2.80× 10-3 S/cm, KC with 400 mg NH4I is 5.88× 10-5 S/cm. Among all the three, combinations the KC with 300 mg NH4Br gives high ionic conductivity. From the X-Ray Diffraction pattern, KC-NH4Cl incorporation greatly enriched the amorphous region. All the three membranes transference numbers are very close to unity. Among all the three combinations, KC with 300 mg NH4Br is the best combination for the application of fuel cell battery.