Thermoelectric power factor optimization in PEDOT:PSS tellurium nanowire hybrid composites
- 31 January 2013
- journal article
- Published by Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics
- Vol. 15 (11), 4024-4032
- https://doi.org/10.1039/c3cp44558e
Abstract
The thermoelectric properties of a unique hybrid polymer–inorganic nanoparticle system consisting of tellurium nanowires and a conducting polymer, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), can be optimized by both controlling the shape of the nanoparticles and the loading and doping of the polymeric matrix with polar solvents. The mechanism for an observed improvement in power factor is attributed to the unique conducting nature of PEDOT:PSS, which exhibits a transition from a hopping transport-dominated regime to a carrier scattering-dominated regime upon doping with polar solvents. Near this transition, the electrical conductivity can be improved without significantly reducing the thermopower. Relying on this principle, the power factor optimization for this new thermoelectric material is experimentally carried out and found to exceed 100 μW m−1 K−2, which is nearly five orders of magnitude greater than pure PEDOT:PSS.This publication has 38 references indexed in Scilit:
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