Promising Thermoelectric Properties of Commercial PEDOT:PSS Materials and Their Bi2Te3 Powder Composites

Newly commercialize PEDOT-PSS products CLEVIOS PH1000 and FE-T, among the most conducting of polymers, show unexpectedly higher Seebeck coefficients than older CLEVIOSP products that were studied by other groups in the past, leading to promising thermoelectric (TE) power factors around 47 mu W/m K-2 and 30 mu W/m K-2 respectively. By incorporating both n and p type Bi2Te3 ball milled powders into these PEDOT-PSS products power factor enhancements for both p and n polymer composite materials are achieved. The contact resistance between Bi2Te3 and PEDOT is identified as the limiting factor for further TE property improvement. These composites can be used for all solution processed TE devices on flexible substrates as a new fabrication option.