Composite of polyaniline‐bismuth selenide with enhanced thermoelectric performance

Abstract

ABSTRACTConducting polymer‐chalcogenide composites have recently been used as propitious contenders for light‐weight, cost‐saving, and nonhazardous thermoelectric (TE) applications. In this work, polyaniline‐bismuth selenide (PANI‐Bi2Se3) nanoplate composites are fabricated via combining in situ oxidative polymerization and solvothermal method. X‐ray diffraction spectra illustrate a uniform growth of PANI matrix over Bi2Se3 nanoplates (BS NPs), directing toward a more ordered composite structure during polymerization. There is a reduction in average crystalline‐size, estimated from Williamson–Hall plot for the composite. Transmission electron microscopic and field emission microscopic images unveil the formation of two‐dimensional (2D) layered‐like structure of the composite. Fourier transform infrared spectra shows the interactions between the BS NPs along with the polymer chains by forming a 2D layered‐like composite structure. The enhanced transport properties can be elucidated on the basis of 2D variable‐range hopping model. The augmentation of power factor (S2σ) of the composite is nearly 30 times with an insignificant change in thermal conductivity (κ) as compared to PANI. This improves the high temperature TE performance (ZT = S2σT/κ~0.18) of the composite with 30 wt % BS NPs (ZTPANI~0.009). © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 46887.