Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 69 (2008) 1033–1036 Charge transport and discharge mechanism in (PVC+KClO 3 ) polymer electrolyte films T. Janaki Rami Reddy a , V.B.S. Achari a , A.K. Sharma a,Ã , V.V.R. Narasimha Rao a , Ch.V. Subba Reddy b a Department of Physics, S.V. University, Tirupati, A.P. 517502, India b Division of Energy Systems Research, Ajou University, Republic of Korea Received 11 May 2006; received in revised form 3 October 2007; accepted 8 October 2007 Abstract This paper presents results of the studies on ionic conductivity and transference number measurements on potassium chlorate (KClO 3 ) complexed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) films prepared by solution-cast technique. Temperature dependence of ionic conductivity and transference number data indicated the dominance of ion-type charge transport in these specimens. The magnitude of conductivity increased with increase in the concentration of the salt and temperature. Using this (PVC+KClO 3 ) electrolyte, solid-state electrochemical cells were fabricated and their discharge profiles were studied under a constant load of 100 kO. Several cell profiles associated with these cells were evaluated and are reported. r 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Keywords: A. Polymers; A. Thin films; D. Transport properties 1. Introduction The development of polymeric systems with high ionic conductivity is one of the main objectives in polymer research. This is due to their potential applications as electrolytes in solid-state batteries [1–4] in view of their high ionic conductivity, high energy density, wide electro- chemical stability and easy processability. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a commercially available, inexpensive polymer and is compatible with many plastici- zers such as, dibutyl phthalate (DBP), dioctyl adipate (DOA), dioctyl phthalate (DOP), polycarbonate (PC) and ethylene carbonate (EC). The resulting plasticized PVC is good in mechanical strength and widely used in the form of films, sheets, and mouldings for plastic leather and curtains, lead-wire coating, flooring, wallboard, etc. Extensive research has been carried out on Li salts complexed polymer electrolytes. However, only a few attempts have been made on electrolytes-based potassium complexed films [5,6]. Apart from its scientific interest, the use of potassium has several advantages over lithium counterparts. Potassium is much more abundant and less expensive than lithium [7]. The softness of this metal makes it easier to achieve and maintain contact with other components in the battery. Further, potassium is more moisture-resistant than lithium. Keeping these aspects in view, a study based on a new K + ion conducting polymer electrolyte, was undertaken. 2. Experimental Polymer electrolyte films of KClO 3 complexed PVC were prepared using solution-cast technique. Tetrahydrofuran (THF) was used as a solvent here. The composition of the polymer complexes were the following: (100x)PVC+ xKClO 3 , where x (wt%) ¼ 5, 10 and 15. The mixtures of salt solutions were stirred for 12 h for homogenous mixing and casted into polypropylene dishes. The dish solutions were kept at room temperature for a week. Thick films of 100–200 mm were collected from the dishes and were vacuum dried thoroughly at 10 3 mbar to remove solvent traces. The ac impedance measurements of the polymer ARTICLE IN PRESS www.elsevier.com/locate/jpcs 0022-3697/$ - see front matter r 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.jpcs.2007.10.016 Ã Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 877 2249273. E-mail address: profaks_svu@yahoo.co.in (A.K. Sharma).