Investigation of the mechanical properties of composite polymer electrolytes based on CsH2PO4

Abstract

The mechanical properties of the CsH2PO4 and hybrid compounds with different polymers (SKF-26, UPTFE, Butvar B-98) was determined by the Vickers microhardness test for the first time. It was shown that increase in the volume fraction of the polymer results in the low HV values corresponding to the high robustness of the membranes to plastic deformation. Mechanical properties of hybrid compounds depend on polymer type and the best results were obtained for SKF-26. The improvement of mechanical properties makes the investigated composite polymer electrolytes promising for use as proton-conducting membranes in the medium-temperature range.