Enhanced performance of SnSe/PEDOT: PSS composite films by MWCNTs for flexible thermoelectric power generator

Flexible multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)- 10 wt% tin selenide (SnSe)/poly (3,4- ethylene dioxythiophene): poly (styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT: PSS)/5 vol% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) (MSPPD) composite films were fabricated by vacuum filtration method, and their thermoelectric properties were investigated. When the electrical conductivity (sigma) and Seebeck coefficient (S) of these composite films with different contents of MWCNTs were measured at different temperatures, sigma had an increasing tendency with the increase of MWCNTs content while S would decrease gradually. MWCNTs would improve carrier concentration (n) and mobility (mu) of SnSe/PEDOT: PSS film simultaneously because of MWCNTs with high electrical conductivity and carrier mobility. The maximum power factor PF of 59.35 mu Wm(-1) K-1 had been obtained for MSPPDIO composite film at 393 K. The MSPPDIO composite film exhibited ex-cellent flexibility, CS decreased only to 86% of its initial stage after bending 1000 cycles using a rod with a radius of 4 mm. A flexible thermoelectric (TE) generator consisting of 5 legs MSPPDIO could generate an open-circuit voltage of 3.73 mV and maximum output power of 14.74 nW when the temperature gradient was 39 K. This research shows that MWCNTs have great potential to enhance the thermoelectric performance of flexible SnSe/PEDOT: PSS composite films for wearable devices. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this study, flexible multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)-tin selenide (SnSe)/poly (3,4- ethylene dioxythiophene): poly (styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT: PSS)/dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) composite films were fabricated and their thermoelectric properties were investigated. The results showed that increasing the content of MWCNTs in the composite films improved the electrical conductivity but decreased the Seebeck coefficient. Additionally, MWCNTs enhanced the carrier concentration and mobility of the films, leading to improved thermoelectric performance. This research highlights the great potential of MWCNTs in enhancing the thermoelectric performance of flexible composite films for wearable devices.