Properties of PEDOT nanowire/Te nanowire nanocomposites and fabrication of a flexible thermoelectric generator

Abstract

Light-weight, mechanically flexible, transparent thermoelectric devices are promising as portable, and easy-to-integrate energy sources. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) nanowires (PEDOT NWs) possessing high electrical conductivity were synthesized by a facile self-assembled micellar soft-template method. And then, Te nanowires (Te NWs) with high Seebeck coefficient were easily synthesized by the solution process and then added as an inorganic filler to form the PEDOT NW/Te NW nanocomposite films via a simple and convenient vacuum filtration method. The thermoelectric (TE) properties of the nanocomposites were characterized in this research. A maximum power factor of 58.03 μW m⁻¹ K⁻² is obtained from the film containing 90 wt% Te NWs at room temperature, which is dozens of times that of the pure PEDOT NW film. This work uses the as-prepared PEDOT NWs/Te NW (90 wt%) nanocomposite film to fabricate a flexible thermoelectric generator and an output voltage of 2.8 mV was generated at a temperature difference of 13.5 K between the environment and human body.