Enhancing the Thermoelectric Performance through the Mutual Interaction between Conjugated Polyelectrolytes and Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract We present a method of constructing composites composed of conjugated polyelectrolytes (CPEs) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) to obtain a high-performing flexible thermoelectric generator. In this approach, three kinds of polymers, namely, poly[(1,4-(2,5-didodecyloxybenzene)-alt-2,5-thiophene] (P1), poly[(1,4-(2,5-bis-sodium butoxysulfonate-phenylene)-alt-2,5-thiophene] (P2), and poly[(1,4-(2,5-bis-acid butoxysulfonic-phenylene)-alt-2,5-thiophene] (P3) are designed, synthesized and complexed with SWCNTs as thermoelectric composites. The electrical conductivities of CPEs/SWCNTs (P2/SWCNTs, and P3/SWCNTs) nanocomposites are much higher than those of non-CPEs/SWCNTs (P1/SWCNTs) nanocomposites. Among them, the electrical conductivity of P2/SWCNTs with a ratio of 1:4 reaches 3686 S cm-1, which is 12.4 times that of P1/SWCNTs at the same SWCNT mass ratio. Moreover, CPEs/SWCNTs composites (P2/SWCNTs) display remarkably improved thermoelectric properties with the highest power factor (PF) of 163 μW m-1 K-2. In addition, a thermoelectric generator is fabricated with P2/SWCNTs composite films, and the output power and power density of this generator reach 1.37 μW and 1.4 W m-2 (cross-section) at ΔT=70 K. This result is over three times that of the thermoelectric generator composed of non-CPEs/SWCNTs composite films (P1/SWCNTs, 0.37 μW). The remarkably improved electrical conductivities and thermoelectric properties of the CPEs/SWCNTs composites (P2/SWCNTs) are attributed to the enhanced interaction. This method for constructing CPEs/SWCNTs composites can be applied to produce thermoelectric materials and devices.

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Preparation and Thermoelectric Properties of Semiconducting Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes/Regioregular Poly(3-dodecylthiophene) Composite Films

Polymers ◽

10.3390/polym12112720 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (11) ◽

pp. 2720

Author(s):

Mengdi Wang ◽

Qin Yao ◽

Sanyin Qu ◽

Yanling Chen ◽

Hui Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Nanotubes ◽

Transport Properties ◽

Thermoelectric Properties ◽

Composite Films ◽

Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes ◽

Dispersion Phase ◽

Single Walled Carbon ◽

Seebeck Coefficients ◽

Regioregular Poly ◽

Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have been widely used as leading additives for improving the thermoelectric properties of organic materials, due to their unique structure and excellent electronic transport properties. However, the as-synthesized SWNTs are mixtures (mix-SWNT) of semiconducting (sc-SWNT) and metallic (met-SWNT) carbon nanotubes. The significantly different surface character and transport behavior of sc-SWNT and met-SWNT frequently raise the difficulty of modifying microstructures, and tuning transport properties of SWNTs/organic composites, when using mix-SWNTs as dispersion phase. Herein, we prepared high quality sc-SWNTs/rr-P3DDT composite film by presorting pure sc-SWNT from the raw mix-SWNTs using regioregular poly(3-dodecylthiophene) (rr-P3DDT). Both the smoothness and compactness of sc-SWNTs/rr-P3DDT are great improved, as compared with the mix-SWNTs/rr-P3DDT films, and the sc-SWNTs are well-dispersed and uniformly wrapped by rr-P3DDT with diameter less than 50 nm. The significantly enhanced Seebeck coefficients and power factors are obtained in the sc-SWNT/rr-P3DDT samples. As the result, the maximum power factor of 60 μW/mK2 in 50 wt% sc-SWNTs sample is 70% higher than that of mix-SWNTs/P3DDT sample. This work reveals the effectiveness of pure semiconductor SWNTs as fillers to optimize the thermoelectric properties of CNT/polymer nano-composites.

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Flexible single-walled carbon nanotubes/polyaniline composite films and their enhanced thermoelectric properties

Nanoscale ◽

10.1039/c1nr10386e ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 3 (9) ◽

pp. 3616 ◽

Cited By ~ 76

Author(s):

Jilei Liu ◽

Jing Sun ◽

Lian Gao

Keyword(s):

Carbon Nanotubes ◽

Thermoelectric Properties ◽

Composite Films ◽

Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes ◽

Single Walled Carbon ◽

Walled Carbon Nanotubes

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Thermoelectric Properties of Thin Films from Sorted Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Materials ◽

10.3390/ma13173808 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (17) ◽

pp. 3808 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Blazej Podlesny ◽

Bogumila Kumanek ◽

Angana Borah ◽

Ryohei Yamaguchi ◽

Tomohiro Shiraki ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Nanotubes ◽

Thermoelectric Properties ◽

Large Scale ◽

Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes ◽

Parent Material ◽

Free Standing ◽

Two Phase ◽

Single Walled Carbon ◽

Walled Carbon Nanotubes ◽

Aqueous Two Phase Extraction

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) remain one of the most promising materials of our times. One of the goals is to implement semiconducting and metallic SWCNTs in photonics and microelectronics, respectively. In this work, we demonstrated how such materials could be obtained from the parent material by using the aqueous two-phase extraction method (ATPE) at a large scale. We also developed a dedicated process on how to harvest the SWCNTs from the polymer matrices used to form the biphasic system. The technique is beneficial as it isolates SWCNTs with high purity while simultaneously maintaining their surface intact. To validate the utility of the metallic and semiconducting SWCNTs obtained this way, we transformed them into thin free-standing films and characterized their thermoelectric properties.

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Synthesis of silver nanoparticles embedded with single-walled carbon nanotubes for printable elastic electrodes and sensors with high stability

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-84386-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jae-Won Lee ◽

Joon Young Cho ◽

Mi Jeong Kim ◽

Jung Hoon Kim ◽

Jong Hwan Park ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Nanotubes ◽

Silver Nanoparticles ◽

High Performance ◽

Composite Films ◽

Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes ◽

Gauge Factor ◽

Time Interval ◽

Single Walled Carbon ◽

Irradiation Energy ◽

Walled Carbon Nanotubes

AbstractSoft electronic devices that are bendable and stretchable require stretchable electric or electronic components. Nanostructured conducting materials or soft conducting polymers are one of the most promising fillers to achieve high performance and durability. Here, we report silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) embedded with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) synthesized in aqueous solutions at room temperature, using NaBH4 as a reducing agent in the presence of highly oxidized SWCNTs as efficient nucleation agents. Elastic composite films composed of the AgNPs-embedded SWCNTs, Ag flake, and polydimethylsiloxane are irradiated with radiation from a Xenon flash lamp within a time interval of one second for efficient sintering of conductive fillers. Under high irradiation energy, the stretchable electrodes are created with a maximum conductivity of 4,907 S cm−1 and a highly stretchable stability of over 10,000 cycles under a 20% strain. Moreover, under a low irradiation energy, strain sensors with a gauge factor of 76 under a 20% strain and 5.4 under a 5% strain are fabricated. For practical demonstration, the fabricated stretchable electrode and strain sensor are attached to a human finger for detecting the motions of the finger.

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