Structural, Optical and Thermal Study on PEO‐Based Solid Polymer Electrolyte for Optical Device Applications

Summary The polymer electrolytes based polyethylene oxide‐cobalt chloride (PEO‐CoCl2) films were prepared by solution casting technique and its structural property was examined by XRD study. The XRD data revealed that the amorphous nature of polymer matrix increased with increase of dopant concentration. The absorption spectra was measured in the wave range from 200–800 nm. The direct optical band gap (Eg) found decreased with increasing the concentration of cobalt chloride. The optical activation energy was evaluated using Urbach‐edges method. The thermal properties of these films were investigated with thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The variation in film morphology is examined by scanning electron microscopy examination (SEM). Studies on the structural and optical properties of polymer electrolyte have attracted much attention in view of their application in optical devices like electro‐chromic display devices, fuel cells, gas sensors and solid state batteries.