High-performance hybrid organic thermoelectric SWNTs/PEDOT:PSS thin-films for energy harvesting

Hybrid organic thermoelectric (HOTE) materials have been considered as a promising alternative for future energy harvesting. Herein, a HOTE thin film was proposed and fabricated by a simple method. Highly conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT: PSS) developed by vacuum filtration has significantly contributed to the optimization of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs)/PEDOT: PSS (SN-PP) thermoelectric composite films. PEDOT: PSS was coated on the surface of SWNTs, effectively creating electrical connecting junctions between SWNTs. The SN-PP composite films achieved high electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient as well as a relatively low thermal conductivity simultaneously. A notable ZT value of 0.12 was obtained at 60 wt% SWNTs, which is generally higher than those reported in previous studies. Our approach may provide quite a useful strategy to prepare HOTE materials with high performance.