Structural, electrochemical, and dielectric studies of phytagel and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tricyanomethanide-based bio-polymer electrolytes

The present work is focused on the synthesis and detailed study of biopolymer phytagel and ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tricyanomethanide (EMIm[TCM]) blended polymer electrolyte films for energy applications. Here, biopolymer phytagel-based polymeric films are synthesized with different concentrations of ionic liquid (EMIm[TCM]) using the solution cast technique. The synthesized films are characterized for their structural, electrochemical, and dielectric properties using different characterization tools i.e., XRD, FTIR, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy, Linear Sweep Voltammetry, and Wagnor polarization technique. The film with 30wt% EMIm[TCM] shows a maximum conductivity of 3.64 × 10-4 S cm-1 and an electrochemical stability window of 3.1 V. The dielectric properties such as dielectric constant (κ), dielectric loss tangent (tanδ), relaxation time, and frequency are also studied for the prepared pure phytagel and phytagel/EMIm[TCM] polymeric films.