Augmentation in proton conductivity of crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol) through the introduction of polyvinyl pyrrolidone

Abstract We aimed to augment the proton conductivity of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) by crosslinking polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) with PVA without any crosslinkers for the first time to form polyvinyl ketal (PVKL). Several characterization techniques were used, including Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR), proton nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H‐NMR), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). To investigate the wettability and proton conductivity performances of the PVKL film, the contact angle, water uptake, and proton conductivity were also evaluated. The PVKL film exhibited excellent water uptake ability (>400%); its proton conductivity was 100 mS cm −1 at 110°C. The proton conductivity of PVKL film increases because PVKL film has a larger charge carrier concentration owing to ketal ring formation. The results point to the longer lifespan for the PVKL film and reveal that the film exhibits excellent proton conductivity rather than PVA film. Thus, it can be potentially used in various optoelectronic applications.