Nanostructure controlled construction of high-performance thermoelectric materials of polymers and their composites

Abstract

Being emerging green energy materials, organic polymer thermoelectric (TE) composites have attracted much current interest and witnessed a rapid development due to their diverse advantages, such as low density, low thermal conductivity, high flexibility, and highly tunable molecular structure. By adjusting the polymer structure and fabrication of their composites, the TE performance can be significantly enhanced. In this review, recent advances in the nanostructures of polymers and their composites for TE applications are introduced. The TE performance of polymers and their composites can be greatly improved and highly tuned by controlled construction of nanostructures via both in situ polymerization and physical mixing. The mechanism of the relation between nanostructures and TE performance is also discussed. Finally, the outlooks of future research are remarked.