N-type organic thermoelectric materials based on polyaniline doped with the aprotic ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethyl sulfate

Abstract

The thermopower performance of polyaniline doped with the considerably reliable ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethyl sulfate was investigated to determine its potential as an alternative to fossil fuels. The ionic liquid, a stable ion complex, was used as the chemical dopant to confer n-type electrical properties to the polyaniline conducting polymer. The ionic liquid-doped polyaniline had an electrical conductivity, n-type Seebeck coefficient, and thermopower execution of 0.23 S m⁻¹, −138.8 μV K⁻¹, and 4.43 × 10⁻³ μW m⁻¹ K⁻², respectively as a result of the chemical doping method and thermal treatment. In addition, the ionic liquid-doped polyaniline realized a stable n-type thermoelectric performance under ambient conditions for 15 days.