Comparative Studies on a Sodium‐Ion Conducting Gel Polymer Electrolyte Comprising Carbonate and Glyme Molecular Liquids Within a Polymeric Blend Framework

Gel polymer electrolytes are recognized as effective systems to replace conventional liquid electrolytes for creating safer high‐energy‐density sodium‐based electrochemical devices. This paper aims to investigate the effect of introducing glyme and carbonate‐based solvents on the electrochemical behavior of sodium‐ion conducting gel polymer electrolytes. The gel polymer electrolytes are fabricated using tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether (TEGDME) and ethylene carbonate: diethyl carbonate (EC: DEC) as a solvent, sodium trifluromethane sulfonate (NaTf) as salt and a blend of poly(vinylidene fluoride‐co‐hexafluoropropylene) and poly methyl methacrylate (PVDF‐HFP: PMMA) polymers as the matrix. Due to the different nature of glyme and carbonate‐based solvents, both the compositions of the electrolyte demonstrate different ion conduction mechanisms, which affect their ionic conductivity. The ionic conductivity values are obtained as 2.4 × 10 −3 and 5.4 × 10 −4 S cm −1 for electrolyte samples containing carbonate and glyme solvents, respectively. The differential scanning calorimetry reveals that the electrolyte membranes maintain gel phase for temperatures < 110°C. X‐ray diffraction suggests changes in structural features on adding different molecular solvents, while the Fourier transformed infra‐red spectroscopy indicates significant interactions among the constituents of electrolytes. The fabricated electrolytes of this report can be employed in next‐generation electrochemical devices.