A novel method to prepare polymer electrolyte based on thermoplastic polyurethane and its antistatic composites

Polyurethane solid polymer electrolytes (SPE) were successfully prepared via melt blending with thermoplastic polyurethane/poly(ethylene oxide) (TPU/PEO) and LiClO4 in a Haake torque rheometer. Morphology and conductivity of such SPE and its composites with high impact polystyrene (HIPS) were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and surface resistivity tests. The results show that conductivity of the SPE prepared by melt blend method developed in this paper is almost equal to that by traditional solvent blend method. Surface resistivity of the HIPS/SPE (80/20) composites also prepared by melt blend can be effectively reduced to 10(9) Omega/sq, having a good antistatic property. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.