Electrolytic performance of sodium alginate-poly vinyl alcohol matrix with ammonium bromide for proton conduction: Applications in electrochemical systems

Polymer blend electrolytes based on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and sodium alginate (NaAlg) were prepared using the solution casting method. These electrolytes were doped with varying amounts of ammonium bromide (NH ₄Br). The compatibility of NH ₄ Br with PVA:NaAlg polymers was examined through X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) studies. The FTIR assessment confirmed the formation of a complex between PVA:NaAlg and the added salt, as evidenced by modifications and reductions in the intensity of FTIR bands related to functional groups. The conductivity and dielectric behavior of the samples were analyzed using AC impedance spectroscopy. The sample with 20 wt% of added salt exhibited a higher ionic conductivity of 1.661×10 ⁻⁵ Scm ⁻¹ . Activation energy and relaxation time were estimated, and dielectric studies revealed a non-Debye nature. The conduction mechanism was best described by the correlated overlapping large polaron tunneling model (OLPT). The highest conducting sample was found to be suitable for electrochemical devices, as demonstrated by transference number (TNM), cyclic volumetric (CV), and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) analyses. This high-conductivity sample can be employed in electrochemical devices such as EDLC. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) curve exhibited a nearly rectangular shape with non-faradaic peaks. GCD(Galvanostatic charge-discharge) analysis yielded specific capacitance, power density, and energy density values of 125.01 Fg ⁻¹ _, 1037 WKg ⁻¹, and 14.06 WhKg ⁻¹ respectively. These results indicate that polymer electrolytes show great promise as electrolytes in proton-conducting electrochemical devices.