Preparation and thermoelectric properties of PEDOT:PSS coated Te nanorod/PEDOT:PSS composite films.

Abstract PEDOT:PSS coated Te (PC Te) nanorod/PEDOT:PSS composite films were prepared by a drop-casting technique. H 2 SO 4 treatment was employed to enhance thermoelectric (TE) properties of the composite films. The addition of PC Te nanorods increased both the electrical conductivity and the Seebeck coefficient of the composite films. An optimized power factor of 141.9 μW/mK2 was obtained for the film containing 90 wt% PC Te nanorods treated with 12 M H 2 SO 4 at room temperature, which was 2.75 times as high as that of the untreated composite film, corresponding to the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient of 204.6 S/cm and 83.27 μV/K, respectively. XPS and GIWAXS analysis revealed the removal of insulating PSS units and the rearrangement of PEDOT chains after the H 2 SO 4 treatment. Finally, a 9-leg TE generator prototype was fabricated using the optimized composite film. The maximum output power and area output power density produced from the prototype were 47.7 nW and 57.2 μW/cm2, respectively, at the temperature difference of 40 K. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • PEDOT:PSS coated Te (PC Te) nanorods were synthesized. • PC Te/PEDOT:PSS composite films were prepared by a drop-casting method. • H 2 SO 4 treatment was used to enhance TE properties of the composite films. • An optimized power factor of 141.9 μW/mK2 was obtained. • A flexible thermoelectric generator prototype was fabricated using the optimized film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]