Abstract

AbstractThis study shows an approach to combine a high electrical conductivity of one composite layer with a high Seebeck coefficient of another composite layer in a double‐layer composite, resulting in high thermoelectric power factor. Flexible double‐layer‐composites, made from Bi2Te3‐based‐alloy/polylactic acid (BTBA/PLA) composites and Ag/PLA composites, are synthesized by solution additive manufacturing. With the increase in Ag volume‐ratio from 26.3% to 41.7% in Ag/PLA layers, the conductivity of the double‐layer composites increases from 12 S cm−1 to 1170 S cm−1, while the Seebeck coefficient remains ≈80 μV K−1 at 300 K. With further increase in volume ratio of Ag until 45.6% in Ag/PLA composite layer, the electrical conductivity of the double‐layer composites increases to 1710 S cm−1, however, with a slight decrease of the Seebeck coefficient to 64 μV K−1. The electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient vary only to a limited extent with the temperature. The high Seebeck coefficient is due to scattering of low energy charge carriers across compositionally graded interfaces. A power factor of 875 μW m−1 K−2 is achieved at 360 K for 41.7 vol.% Ag in the Ag/PLA layers. Solution additive manufacturing can directly print this double‐layer composite into intricate geometries, making this process is promising for large‐scale fabrication of thermoelectric composites.

Highlights

  • Introduction of fully inorganicTE materials.[18]

  • At 300 K, with the increase in volume ratio of Ag from 26.3% for DC1 to 45.6% for DC5, the electrical conductivity of the double-layer composites sharply increases from 12.3 to 1710.2 S cm−1

  • This value is much higher than that of SCBT (≈0.53 S cm−1 at 300 K, Figure 2d), which is attributed to the higher electrical conductivity of Ag (6.7 × 105 S cm−1[25]), it is lower than that of Ag/PLA single layer composites, which are measured to be ≈454, 1672, 2230, 2979, and 4765 S cm−1 for SCA1, SCA2, SCA3, SCA4, and SCA5, respectively, at 300 K (Figure 2d)

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Summary

Introduction

Introduction of fully inorganicTE materials.[18]. Optimizing the materials’ TE efficiency and reducing Bi-Te-based alloys loading in the com-Thermoelectric (TE) devices are based on materials that con- posites, in combination with ease of processing, is an vert heat (temperature differences) to electrical energy or vice important challenge in developing inorganic/organic composversa.[1,2,3] The TE efficiency is related to the dimensionless ites and hybrid materials for thermoelectrics.Additive manufacturing (3D printing), has many advantages, Dr J. Videos S1 and S2 and Figure S1a–d, Supporting Information show the additive manufacturing process of the BTBA/PLA–Ag/ PLA double-layer composites.

Results
Conclusion
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