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Fully Organic Nanocomposites with High Thermoelectric Power Factors by using a Dual‐Stabilizer Preparation
Author(s) -
Moriarty Gregory P.,
Briggs Kenneth,
Stevens Bart,
Yu Choongho,
Grunlan Jaime C.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
energy technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.91
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 2194-4296
pISSN - 2194-4288
DOI - 10.1002/ente.201300018
Subject(s) - pedot:pss , materials science , nanocomposite , carbon nanotube , seebeck coefficient , thermoelectric effect , stabilizer (aeronautics) , organic semiconductor , electrical resistivity and conductivity , conductive polymer , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , thermal conductivity , composite material , polymer , optoelectronics , mechanical engineering , physics , electrical engineering , engineering , thermodynamics
The thermoelectric properties of fully organic nanocomposites were investigated, for which meso ‐tetra(4‐carboxyphenyl) porphine (TCPP) and poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) were used as instrinically conductive and semiconducting stabilizers, respectively. The electrical conductivity ( σ ) of these dual‐stabilizer organic composites increased to approximately 9500 S m −1 as the concentrations of both the multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and PEDOT:PSS were increased. The thermopower (or Seebeck coefficient, S ) and thermal conductivity, however, remained relatively unaffected by the increase in concentration (≈40 μV K −1 and ≈0.12 W m −1 K −1 , respectively). Replacing MWNTs with double‐walled carbon nanotubes (DWNTs) increased σ and S to approximately 96 000 S m −1 and 70 μV K −1 , respectively, at 40 wt % DWNTs. This study suggests that σ and S can be simultaneously tailored by using multiple stabilizing agents to affect the transport properties of the junctions between nanotubes. Combining semiconducting and intrinsically conductive molecules as CNT‐stabilizers has led to a power factor that is among the best for a completely organic, free‐standing film (≈500 μW m −1 K −2 ). These flexible, segregated‐network nanocomposites now exhibit properties that rival the more conventional inorganic semiconductors, particularly when normalized by the mass.