Open AccessQuinoid‐Resonant Conducting Polymers Achieve High Electrical Conductivity over 4000 S cm −1 for Thermoelectrics
Author(s) -
Yuan Dafei,
Liu Liyao,
Jiao Xuechen,
Zou Ye,
McNeill Christopher R.,
Xu Wei,
Zhu Xiaozhang,
Zhu Daoben
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
advanced science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.388
H-Index - 100
ISSN - 2198-3844
DOI - 10.1002/advs.201800947
Subject(s) - materials science , electrical resistivity and conductivity , lamellar structure , polymerization , stacking , thermoelectric materials , conductivity , polymer , crystallite , chemical engineering , polymer chemistry , chemistry , composite material , electrical engineering , organic chemistry , thermal conductivity , metallurgy , engineering
Abstract New conducting polymers polythieno[3,4‐ b ]thiophene‐Tosylate (PT b T‐Tos) are prepared by solution casting polymerization. Through tuning the alkyl group of T b T, the electrical conductivity can be effectively enhanced from 0.0001 to 450 S cm −1 . Interestingly, the electrical conductivity of PT b T‐C1‐Tos increases significantly from 450 S cm −1 at room temperature to 4444 S cm −1 at 370 K, which is disparate from polyethylenedioxythiophene‐Tos exhibiting metallic conducting behavior. Quasi‐reversible phase transformation with temperature from 3D crystallites to lamellar‐stacking coincides with the increasing electrical conductivity of PT b T‐C1‐Tos with heating. Methyl‐substituted PT b T‐Tos with the best electrical property is further utilized for thermoelectrics and a power factor as high as 263 µW m −1 K −1 is obtained. It is believed that PT b T‐Tos will be a promising family of conducting polymers for solution‐processed organic electronics.