Proton-Conducting Biopolymer Electrolytes Based on the Blend of Xanthan Gum and Polyvinylpyrrolidone

A new proton-conducting solid polymer blend electrolyte (SPBE) has been prepared by using xanthan gum (XG) and polyvinylpyrrolidone with ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3). All the polymer electrolytes are prepared by the solution casting technique. The increase in the amorphous nature of the XG/PVP blend by the addition of salt is confirmed by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern. The complex nature of salt-mixed blend electrolytes can be observed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The AC impedance analysis is used for the determination of the ionic conductivity of all the samples. The sample with 2 wt.% XG/98 wt.% PVP and 30% NH4NO3 has the maximum ionic conductivity of 6.75 × 10−5 S/cm. The non-Debye nature of the SBPE is noticed by the dielectric and modulus spectra. The relaxation time (τ) of the samples can be calculated by the tangent spectra and it is a minimum of 9.1 × 10−7 s for the sample having higher conductivity. This optimized polymer blend electrolyte may be recorded as a good candidate for the fabrication of electrochemical devices.