Simultaneous enhancements in the Seebeck coefficient and conductivity of PEDOT:PSS by blending ferroelectric BaTiO3 nanoparticles

Thermoelectric polymers have attracted great attention because of their unique merits including low thermal conductivity, low cost, non- or low toxicity and high mechanical flexibility. However, their thermoelectric properties particularly the Seebeck coefficient should be greatly increased for prac...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for energy and sustainability Materials for energy and sustainability, 2021-08, Vol.9 (31), p.16952-16960
Main Authors: Li, Chang'an, Guan, Xin, Yue, Shizhong, Wang, Xizu, Li, Jianmin, Cheng, Hanlin, Wang, Shan, Aung Ko Ko Kyaw, Ouyang, Jianyong
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Barium
Barium titanates
Current carriers
Dielectric constant
Electric polarization
Energy charge
Ferroelectric materials
Ferroelectricity
Filtration
Nanoparticles
Polymers
Power factor
Seebeck effect
Thermal conductivity
Thermoelectricity
Toxicity
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Summary:Thermoelectric polymers have attracted great attention because of their unique merits including low thermal conductivity, low cost, non- or low toxicity and high mechanical flexibility. However, their thermoelectric properties particularly the Seebeck coefficient should be greatly increased for practical applications. Although dedoping and energy filtering can increase the Seebeck coefficient, they lower the conductivity because the Seebeck coefficient and conductivity are interdependent. Here, we report simultaneous enhancements in the Seebeck coefficient and conductivity of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) that is the most popular thermoelectric polymer by adding ferroelectric barium titanate (BaTiO3) nanoparticles. The BaTiO3 nanoparticles can enhance the Seebeck coefficient from 23.8 to 40.7 μV K−1 and the power factor from 34.4 to 117.0 μW m−1 K−2, and the insulating BaTiO3 nanoparticles do not decrease but increase the conductivity of PEDOT:PSS. The conductivity of the continuous PEDOT:PSS phase in the composite films can be enhanced from 587 to 1552 S cm−1. The enhancement in the Seebeck coefficient is ascribed to the energy filtering of low-energy charge carriers in PEDOT:PSS due to the spontaneous electric polarization of BaTiO3, and the increase in the conductivity is attributed to the secondary doping of PEDOT:PSS related to the high dielectric constant of the BaTiO3 nanoparticles.
ISSN:2050-7488
2050-7496
DOI:10.1039/d1ta04235a