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ABSTRACT
Chitosan and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) powders were mixed in different ratios, and a fixed amount of europium triflate and glycerol were added to each mixture. The properties of these samples were studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and complex impedance spectroscopy. TGA revealed that the electrolytes are stable up to 145°C. The samples' morphology and structure are homogeneous, and a presence of small crystalline peaks in some XRD may be related to the salt that probably is not totally accommodate in the blended matrix. The best ionic conductivity values of 1.92 × 10−8 S cm−1 at 30°C was registered for the sample with 50:50 composition.
Funding
We are grateful to the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) through the Chemistry Research Centre of the University of Minho (Ref. UID/QUI/00686/2013 and UID/QUI/0686/2016) and program POCH/FSE for a grant SFRH/BD/97232/2013 (R. Alves) for financial support of this work. M. M. Silva, R. Sabadini, and A. Pawlicka acknowledges Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for grants PVE 406617/2013-9, PDJ 152252/2016-9, and PP 305029/2013-4 provided by this institution.