Electrical, structural and electrochemical studies of calcium salt-agarose based gel polymer electrolyte with the addition of natural deep eutectic solvent / Noraishah Syuhada Mohd Rafi

Current interest in divalent calcium-based gel polymer electrolyte systems was rapid growth because of their potential in developing high-energy storage devices such as supercapacitors. However, research in calcium-based electrolytes was still poorly understood regarding the poor ionic conductivity, high crystalline structure and low electrochemical potential because of the obstacles in finding suitable electrolytes incorporate with the calcium salts. Therefore, this thesis focuses on the preparation and characterization of calcium thiocyanate (CaSCN) and calcium nitrate (Ca(N03)2) based gel polymer electrolytes. The research included two stages of work where at stage one various salt concentrations from 0 wt.% to 45 wt.% of CaSCN and Ca(N03)2 salts were added with 0.5 g of agarose polymer matrix and dissolved in 20 ml of DMSO, they were stirred for several days until a clear solution formed. Then, to produce a free-standing film, they were cast by solution casting method and heated in the oven at the temperature of-80 ° C. They were characterized using Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) to examine their conductivity studies, structural analysis by X-Ray Diffraction Spectroscopy (XRD), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. Voltage potential characterization by Linear Sweep Voltammetry (LSV) and Cyclic Voltammetry (CV).