Polymer electrolyte films composed of PVP and PVP/glycerin with varying concentrations of CuCl2 (10, 20, and 30 wt.%) were synthesized using the solution casting method. The synthesized electrolyte films were characterized using FTIR, XRD, UV-Vis, DSC, and TGA techniques. FTIR spectroscopy revealed an O-H stretching vibration of PVP around 3300 cm(-1), which experienced broadening and a reduction in intensity upon the introduction of glycerin and CuCl2. XRD analysis displayed a characteristic peak at 2 theta similar to 20 degrees, with the peak shifting towards higher angles and a slight decrease in intensity as the CuCl2 concentration increased, indicating a disruption of the crystalline structure of the host matrix. UV-Vis analysis revealed that the optical bandgap of pure PVP was 3.6 eV, whereas the incorporation of 10, 20, and 30 wt.% CuCl2 into the PVP/glycerin system resulted in a significant reduction of the bandgap to 2.4, 1.7, and 1.4 eV, respectively. DSC measurements indicated a decrease in the glass transition temperature (T-g) from 150 degrees C for pure PVP to 146, 144, and 140 degrees C for the PVP/glycerin composites containing 10, 20, and 30% CuCl2, respectively. TGA results indicated enhanced thermal stability for PVP/glycerin with CuCl2, which remained stable up to 225 degrees C, compared to pure PVP. According to conductivity measurements, the highest ionic conductivity achieved for a system containing 20 wt.% CuCl2 is 6.47 x 10(-4) S/cm at room temperature. The experimental data suggest that these optimized electrolyte materials could be suitable candidates for high-performance energy storage technologies.
