A simple thermoelectric device based on inorganic/organic composite thin film for energy harvesting

Abstract

Thermoelectric materials have been widely used in the power generation and cooling. Tellurium (Te) nanomaterial has gained great attention due to its enhanced thermoelectric performance, however, the researches are lacking of practical applications for energy harvesting. Here, a simple thermoelectric device was built with n-type and p-type Te-based (Bi2Te3 and Te-PEDOT:PSS composite) nanowires (NWs) thin film as legs for the first time. Firstly, a facile solution method was used to synthesize Te and Bi2Te3 NWs. A composite thin film was composed of Te NWs and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) to achieve a higher thermoelectric performance and a better environmental stability. The thermoelectric thin film device, consisting of Bi2Te3 NWs as n-type leg and Te-PEDOT:PSS as p-type leg, exhibits a stable output voltage of 56mV and high output power density value of 32μWcm−2 at temperature difference of 60K, which is only 20% lower than that composed of commercial Bi2Te3. However, Te-based thin film device can effectively decrease its costs and be further improved to achieve a larger output voltage in the future.