Structural and Electrochemical Properties of Succinonitrile-Based Gel Polymer Electrolytes: Role of Ionic Liquid Addition

Experimental studies on the novel compositions of gel polymer electrolytes, comprised of plastic crystal succinonitrile (SN) dispersed with pyrrolidinium and imidazolium-based ionic liquids (ILs) entrapped in a host polymer poly(vinylidine fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVdF-HFP), are reported. The gel electrolytes are in the form of free-standing films with excellent mechanical, thermal, and electrochemical stability. The introduction of even a small content (∼1 wt %) of ionic liquid (1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethyl-sulfonyl)imide (BMPTFSI) or 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate (EMITf) in the PVdF-HFP/SN system (1:4 w/w) enhances the electrical conductivity by 4 orders of magnitude, that is, from ∼10–7 to ∼10–3 S cm–1 at room temperature. The structural changes due to the entrapment of SN or SN/ILs mixtures and ion–SN–polymer interactions are examined by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR)/Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and differential scanning calorimmetry (DSC). Various physicochemical properties and fast ion conduction in the gel polymer membranes show their promising characteristics as electrolytes in different ionic devices including supercapacitors.