Electrochemical and thermal properties of polymer-layered silicate nanocomposites for energy storage applications

The present work gives an outline of electrochemical and thermal properties of single ion conducting polymer-layered silicate nanocomposites. High resolution transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction studies prove the intercalation of poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVdF-HFP) inside the interlayer galleries of montmorillonite (MMT) silicate. Scanning electron microscopy reveals porosity increases with increasing MMT concentration. Room temperature ionic conductivity of 1.2 × 10 ⁻⁵ S cm ⁻¹ has been obtained. Electrochemical stability increases with increasing MMT concentration attaining the highest value of 4.2 V at 20 wt.% of MMT. Thermal properties substantiate decomposition temperature in the range of 300–374°C for the nanocomposites.