Interfacial Interactions in Polymer-Nanocrystal Thermoelectric Composites Provide a Novel Route for Power Factor Enhancement

ORAL

Abstract

The highest performing thermoelectric materials currently available are fabricated via expensive high-temperature vacuum processing techniques. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in the thermoelectric properties of solution-processable materials, which have the potential to dramatically reduce module fabrication costs. These solution-processed materials however often exhibit poor transport properties, which undermines their competitive advantage over the more traditional expensive thermoelectric materials. Here, we present the thermoelectric transport properties of a new class of solution-processable conducting-polymer/inorganic composite materials as a function of nanocrystal loading. In the Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) and Tellurium nanowire composite devices fabricated for this study, the thermoelectric performance of the composite exceeds that of either pure organic or inorganic component alone. This result suggests an interface-driven mechanism for this enhanced performance and provides an exciting route for improving the power factors of organic-inorganic hybrid thermoelectrics.

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Authors

  • Nelson Coates

    • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
    • Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA

  • Shannon Yee

    • Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
    • Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA

  • Boris Russ

    • Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
    • Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA

  • Jeffrey Urban

    • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
    • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA

  • Rachel A. Segalman

    • University of California, Berkeley
    • Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
    • Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA