Preparation and thermoelectric properties of screen-printable rGO/Sb2Te3/SV4/PEDOT:PSS composite thermoelectric film

Abstract

Because of the advantages of facile and fast preparation process, screen printing technology shows great potentials in the prospective large-scale production of thermoelectric materials. Herein, rGO/Sb2Te3 composite powders have been prepared by a hydrothermal process, and then flexible rGO/Sb2Te3/SV4/PEDOT:PSS composite films with different weights of rGO/Sb2Te3 composite powders have been prepared via a screen printing process. The effects of the contents of rGO/Sb2Te3 composite powders on thermoelectric properties of the rGO/Sb2Te3/SV4/PEDOT:PSS composite films have been studied. The Seebeck coefficients of the achieved composite films was basically unchanged with the content of rGO/Sb2Te3 composite powders increasing, whereas the electrical conductivities decrease, resulting in a maximal power factor of 2.96 μW/mK2 at 375 K for the composite film containing 85 wt.% rGO/Sb2Te3 composite powders. The cold pressing combining annealing process has been employed to improve the thermoelectric properties of the composite films. After the treatment, the electrical conductivity of the composite film with 85 wt.% rGO/Sb2Te3 powders has been significantly improved, while the corresponding Seebeck coefficient has slightly decreased. An optimal power factor of 14.13 μW/mK2 has been acquired at 375 K, which is ∼ 5 times higher when compared to the untreated composite film (2.96 μW/mK2 at 375 K).