RESUMO
Conductive polymers such as PEDOT:PSS hold great promise as flexible thermoelectric devices. The thermoelectric power factor of PEDOT:PSS is small relative to inorganic materials because the Seebeck coefficient is small. Ion conducting materials have previously been demonstrated to have very large Seebeck coefficients, and a major advantage of polymers over inorganics is the high room temperature ionic conductivity. Notably, PEDOT:PSS demonstrates a significant but short-term increase in Seebeck coefficient which is attributed to a large ionic Seebeck contribution. By controlling whether electrochemistry occurs at the PEDOT:PSS/electrode interface, the duration of the ionic Seebeck enhancement can be controlled, and a material can be designed with long-lived ionic Seebeck enhancements.
RESUMO
The Seebeck effect in unipolar ion-conducting, solid-state polymers is characterized. The high Seebeck coefficient and sign in polymer ion conductors is explained via analysis of thermogalvanic multicomponent transport. A solid-state, water-processeable, flexible device based on these materials is demonstrated, showcasing the promise of polymers as thermogalvanic materials. Thermogalvanic materials based on ion-conducting polymer membranes show great promise in the harvesting of waste heat.
RESUMO
A new class of high-performance n-type organic thermoelectric materials, self-doping perylene diimide derivatives with modified side chains, is reported. These materials achieve the highest n-type thermoelectric performance of solution-processed organic materials reported to date, with power factors as high as 1.4 µW/mK(2). These results demonstrate that molecular design is a promising strategy for enhancing organic thermoelectric performance.
