Effect of silica nanofiber dispersion on electrochemical properties of cellulose acetate composite gel electrolytes

In this article, a novel cellulose acetate (CA) based nanocomposite polymer electrolyte membranes have been successfully synthesized with SiO2 nanofibers using hot press method. SEM image shows that the synthesized nanofibers exhibit diameter in the range from 40 nm to 60 nm. The impedance spectroscopy analysis reveals a maximum ionic conductivity of 8 × 10−4 Scm−1 with 5 wt% of nanofibers at room temperature. An enhancement of ionic conductivity is attributed to the reinforcement nanofibers, which provides a longer path for Li+ ions to conduct in the polymer matrix. A detail study of FTIR and XRD show that addition of nanofibers actually help to generate more Li+ ions in the polymer matrix, which results in increase of ionic conductivity. The interfacial and electrochemical stabilities have also been found to be better after reinforcement of SiO2 nanofibers. [Display omitted] •A cellulose acetate based nanocomposite gel polymer electrolytes have been synthesized with SiO2 nanofibers.•Addition of SiO2 nanofibers greatly influenced the ion transport properties of the electrolytes.•Maximum ionic conductivity value was found to be 8 × 10−4 Scm−1 at room temperature.•Electrochemical properties of the electrolytes were also significantly improved upon addition of SiO2 nanofibers.•The synthesized electrolytes could be a potential candidate for advanced energy storage devices.