Investigation of the Ionic Conduction Mechanism in Carboxymethyl Cellulose/Chitosan Biopolymer Blend Electrolyte Impregnated with Ammonium Nitrate

Abstract

In the present work, an attempt has been made to prepare a new natural biopolymer blend electrolyte of carboxymethyl cellulose/chitosan impregnated with NH₄NO₃ by the solution casting technique. The conductivity for the system was measured by impedance spectroscopy. The incorporation of 40 wt.% NH₄NO₃ optimized the ambient temperature conductivity of the electrolyte up to 1.03 × 10⁻⁵ S cm⁻¹. All electrolytes were found to follow the Arrhenius relationship. Dielectric studies confirmed that the electrolytes obey non-Debye behavior. The temperature dependence of the power law exponent s for the highest conducting film can be represented by the correlated barrier hopping model.

Keywords:

• Arrhenius
• Carboxymethyl cellulose
• Chitosan
• Conductivity
• Correlated barrier hopping