The adsorption of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) on montmorillonites saturated with calcium (Ca-Mt) and sodium (Na-Mt) as a function of the pH value and PVA concentration in aqueous solution was studied. Owing to the binding effect of the bivalent cation, the adsorption of PVA on Ca-Mt decreases as the pH of the suspension increases, whereas adsorption on Na-Mt is unaffected by the suspension pH. The adsorption maximum of PVA (pH 6) on Ca-Mt was 151.2 mg of PVA g−1 of clay, which is considerably lower than that on Na-Mt (496.2 mg g−1). These adsorption data coincide with the basal spacings obtained for the clays: 1.72 and 2.26 nm for Ca-Mt and Na-Mt, respectively. Sodium permits a greater separation between the clay laminae than calcium, but in both clays the presence of the polymer gives rise to a material in which PVA is intercalated between the laminae and is also adsorbed on the external surface. Adsorption is a slow process and is irreversible in both clays.

The present work investigates inorganic–organic nanocomposite polymer electrolytes (NCPEs) for lithium-ion battery applications. Nanoscale TiO2 particles were dispersed into boron comprising poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-g-poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether (PEGME) host polymer at several percentages. During preparation, nanocomposite matrices were doped with CF3SO3Li at several compositions and homogeneous soft solid materials were obtained. The interactions between host copolymer and inorganic additive and dopant were studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The surface morphology of the NCPEs was investigated by scanning electron microscopy and their thermal properties were studied by thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. The ionic conductivity of these novel NCPEs was studied by dielectric-impedance spectroscopy. High ambient temperature Li+ ion conducting (∼10−4 S/cm) NCPE matrices can be suggested for lithium battery applications.