PEDOT-based thermoelectric nanocomposites – A mini-review

• Published in: Synthetic metals Vol. 226; pp. 119 - 128
• Main Authors: Li, Yunyang, Du, Yong, Dou, Yunchen, Cai, Kefeng, Xu, Jiayue
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lausanne Elsevier B.V 01.04.2017; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Germanium; Heat conductivity; Heavy metals; Lead; Nanocomposites; One-dimensional (1-D) materials; Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene); Polyethylene; Properties (attributes); Silicon base alloys; Studies; Thermal conductivity; Thermoelectric materials; Thermoelectric properties; BPO; RT; PS; APS; DMSO; PANI; PEDOT:PSS; One-dimensional (1-D) materials; Thermoelectric properties; PEDOT; THF; DBSA; PEDOT:Tos; VPP; LPNE; rGO; DMF; EG; SDS; PTh; Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene); AOT; CPs; 1-D; GO; AAO; TE; PA; PSS; TDAE; PC; PLGA; PMMA; Nanocomposites; PPy; Tos; ZnO; FeTS
• ISSN: 0379-6779; 1879-3290
• DOI: 10.1016/j.synthmet.2017.02.007

•The research progress of PEDOT film and nanoparticle TE materials were reviewed.•The research progress of 1-D PEDOT nanostructure TE materials was reviewed.•The research progress of 1-D PEDOT-based TE nanocomposites was reviewed. Nowadays, thermoelectric (TE) materials have gained considerable attention due to their unique ability to directly convert waste heat to electricity and vice versa. For a long time, researchers have mainly focused on developing high-performance inorganic TE materials, e.g., Bi-Te, Pb-Te, and Si-Ge based alloys, etc. However, inorganic TE materials have various disadvantages, such as high-cost, heavy metal contamination, as well as relatively poor processability, etc. Compared to inorganic TE materials, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) has great potential to be used for TE materials, due to its low thermal conductivity, low-cost, and low-density, etc. Therefore, more and more attention has been focused on the preparation and TE properties of PEDOT and PEDOT based nanocomposites, especially one-dimensional (1-D) PEDOT and 1-D PEDOT based nanocomposites, due to 1-D nanostructures always have enhanced TE properties. This article presents an overview of the synthesis of PEDOT nanoparticles, 1-D PEDOT nanostructures and their corresponding nanocomposites, as well as TE properties.