Poly(vinylidene-co-hexafluoropropylene) membrane modified with glass fibers and polyvinyl pyrrolidone: Mechanical and electrochemical properties

The polymer electrolytes based on poly(vinylidene- co -hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF- co -HFP) have been widely studied and applied in devices for its excellent electrochemical and mechanical properties. Here, porous PVDF- co -HFP membrane modified with glass fibers (GFs) and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) were fabricated by phase-transfer method. When the dosage of GFs exceeded 1 wt%, the composite membranes exhibited 6.11 MPa tensile strength. When the dosage of GFs and PVP reached 1% (PVP 1 GF 1 ), respectively, the composite membranes in porous network structure possessed the highest electrolyte uptake of 251.02%, the thermal stability of 343°C and the ionic conductivity of 3.05 × 10 −3 S cm −1 . Electrochromic device (ECD) was assembled with PVP 1 GF 1 electrolyte, showing quick responses between the bleached and the color states within 3 s. The PVDF- co -HFP composite electrolyte was expected to be effective substitutes for liquid electrolytes used in ECDs.