Structural, Electrical, Mechanical and Morphological Characterization of Methylcellulose–Magnesium Triflate (MgTf) Electrolyte Films with Deep Eutectic Solvent

Aiman Razi; Siti Zulaikha Mohd Yusof; Muhammad Amin Asraff Kamarudin; Nuramirah Syafikah Mohd Soffian; Nabilah Akemal Muhd Zailani

doi:10.56532/mjsat.v6iS1.790

Authors

Aiman Razi Faculty of Applied Science, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Perlis, Kampus Arau, 02600, Arau, Malaysia
Siti Zulaikha Mohd Yusof Faculty of Applied Science, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Perlis, Kampus Arau
Muhammad Amin Asraff Kamarudin Faculty of Applied Science, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Perlis, Kampus Arau
Nuramirah Syafikah Mohd Soffian Faculty of Applied Science, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Perlis, Kampus Arau
Nabilah Akemal Muhd Zailani Faculty of Applied Science, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Perlis, Kampus Arau https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2690-1686

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56532/mjsat.v6iS1.790

Keywords:

Solid Polymer Electrolyte, Magnesium Triflate, Deep Eutectic Solvent, Structural Properties, Methylcellulose

Abstract

As an alternative to traditional liquid electrolytes, polymer electrolytes (PEs) have recently attracted attention, partly because they show high safety, sustainability in the environment, and design flexibility in new-generation energy storage devices. The present research work is devoted to studying the structural, electrical, mechanical, and morphological properties of methylcellulose (MC)-based solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) incorporation, enhanced with magnesium triflate (MgTf) as well as deep eutectic solvent (DES), choline chloride-1,3-propanediol, to have a complete picture of these kinds of SPEs properties. Distilled water was used as a solvent, and the electrolytes were prepared through the solution casting technique using MgTf concentrations of 10, 30, and 50 wt. %, with constant DES content. Structural observations using the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis showed a decrease in the crystallinity and an increase in interactions of hydrogen bonding in the broad O–H stretching region (around 3300–3500 cm⁻¹), which favors more mobility of ions in the presence of DES. These results were further confirmed by the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) study, which exhibited the highest ionic conductivity value of 6.06 × 10^-6 S cm^-1 in the MC-MgTf(30)-DES sample. Optical microscopy also showed that the 30 wt.% MgTf-induced film structure was the most amorphous and homogeneous structure, contributing to efficient transport paths of ions. According to the result obtained from the tensile test, this composition provided a high tensile strength of 6.70 MPa and an elastic modulus of 197.73 MPa, which were a balance between flexibility and robustness. It can be concluded that the MC-MgTf(30)-DES formulation electrolyte provided the most advantageous combination of structural, electrical, mechanical, and morphological properties.

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