Abstract
Hybrid thermoelectric flexible films based on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes were prepared by using layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly. The employed PEDOT nanoparticles were synthesized by oxidative miniemulsion polymerization by using iron(III) p-toluenesulfonate hexahydrate (FeTos) as an oxidant and poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC) as stabilizer. Sodium deoxycholate (DOC) was used as a stabilizer to prepare the aqueous dispersions of the carbon nanotubes. Hybrid thermoelectric films were finally prepared with different monomer/oxidant molar ratios and different types of carbon nanotubes, aiming to maximize the power factor (PF). The use of single-wall (SWCNT), double-wall (DWCNT), and multiwall (MWCNT) carbon nanotubes was compared. The Seebeck coefficient was measured by applying a temperature difference between the ends of the film and the electrical conductivity was measured by the Van der Pauw method. The best hybrid film in this study exhibited a PF of 72 µW m−1K−2. These films are prepared from aqueous dispersions with relatively low-cost materials and, due to lightweight and flexible properties, they are potentially good candidates to recover waste heat in wearable electronic applications.
Highlights
Most of the energy produced today comes from classical energy sources, which are non-renewable and generate many environmental problems
PEDOT nanoparticles were synthesized by chemical oxidation polymerization in miniemulsion temperature controller
Hybrid thermoelectric flexible films with high Seebeck coefficient were prepared through layerby-layer (LbL) assembly by using as building blocks PEDOT nanoparticles functionalized with
Summary
Most of the energy produced today comes from classical energy sources, which are non-renewable and generate many environmental problems. The use of inorganic semiconductors has dominated thermoelectric applications Their inherent problems, such as toxicity, scarcity of raw materials, and high production cost, have motivated the search of new materials capable to overcome such problems [2]. Multilayered materials based on conducting polymers and carbon nanostructures (CNTs and graphene) stand out over the rest because their thermoelectric efficiency can be higher than bulk Bi2 Te3. Conducting polymers are much more flexible than inorganic materials and offer the possibility to produce highly flexible films for thermoelectric applications [22] in different substrates, such as paper with PEDOT:PSS [23,24] or polyimide with poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT)/CNT nanocomposites [25]. The use of PEDOT nanoparticles allows us to tune the electrical properties and the surface charge, which can be influenced by experimental parameters, such as the nature of the stabilizer used during nanoparticle synthesis (nonionic, cationic or anionic) or the oxidant concentration
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