Structural, Morphological, and Electrical Properties of Citric Acid-Crosslinked Poly(vinyl alcohol)/Chitosan Blend Films for Alkaline Polymer Electrolyte Application
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Alkaline polymer electrolytes need a host combining low crystallinity for hydroxide transport with a cohesive network, but the contributions of blending and crosslinking remain unresolved in KOH-doped PVA/chitosan systems. Partially hydrolyzed PVA (87–89 mol%) films with 0–50 wt% chitosan were cast, the blends crosslinked with 5 wt% citric acid. Undoped companion films were characterized by XRD, FTIR, and SEM; impedance spectra of three independently cast, 6 M KOH-doped films per composition were analyzed. XRD crystallinities were 8.7% (pristine PVA), 4.6% (uncrosslinked blend), and 0.4% (crosslinked blend), the reduction on blending was no larger than dilution by chitosan, whereas crosslinking lowered crystallinity at least sixfold. FTIR indicated hydrogen bonding on blending and carbonyl gain at 1705 cm –1 confirming citric acid incorporation. SEM showed a porous network in the uncrosslinked blend that crosslinking removed. As bulk relaxation lies far above 100 kHz, conductivity was taken from the high-frequency response geometric means of 6.9 × 10 –3 to 5.3 × 10 –2 S cm –1 , with no composition distinguishable within film-to-film scatter. The electrode interface responded reproducibly; charge-transfer resistance was 6.5-fold higher in chitosan-containing films than in pristine PVA, and low-frequency conductivity was lowest at 37.5 wt% chitosan.
Language: English
Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $760
OpenAlex ID: W7225811166