Hybrid organic/inorganic composites have recently attracted intensive interests as a promising candidate for flexible thermoelectric (TE) devices using inherently soft polymers as well as for increasing the degree of freedom to control TE properties. Experimentally, however, enhanced TE performance in hybrid composites has not been commonly observed, primarily due to inhomogeneous mixing between the inorganic and organic components which leads to limited electrical conduction in the less conductive component and consequently a low power factor in the composites compared to their single-component counterparts. In this study, we investigated the effects of different surfactants on the uniformity of mixing and the TE behaviors of the hybrid composites consisting of Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 (BST) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS). We found that compared to dimethyl sulfoxide, which is the most widely used surfactant, Triton X-100 (TX-100) can lead to homogenous dispersion of BST in PEDOT:PSS. By systematically studying the effects of the surfactant concentration, we can attribute the better mixing capability of TX-100 to its non-ionic property, which results in homogenous mixing with a lower critical micelle concentration. Consequently, we observed simultaneous increase in electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient in the BST/PEDOT:PSS composites with the TX-100 surfactant.
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28 May 2018
Research Article|
May 23 2018
Role of surfactant on thermoelectric behaviors of organic-inorganic composites Available to Purchase
Sunmi Shin;
Sunmi Shin
1
Materials Science and Engineering Program, University of California
, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
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Jong Wook Roh;
Jong Wook Roh
a)
2
School of Nano and Materials Science and Engineering, Kyungpook National University
, Gyeongsangbuk-do 37224, South Korea
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Hyun-Sik Kim;
Hyun-Sik Kim
3
Material R&D Center, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology
, 130 Samsung-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do 16678, South Korea
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Renkun Chen
Renkun Chen
b)
1
Materials Science and Engineering Program, University of California
, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
4
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California
, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
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Sunmi Shin
1
Jong Wook Roh
2,a)
Hyun-Sik Kim
3
Renkun Chen
1,4,b)
1
Materials Science and Engineering Program, University of California
, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
2
School of Nano and Materials Science and Engineering, Kyungpook National University
, Gyeongsangbuk-do 37224, South Korea
3
Material R&D Center, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology
, 130 Samsung-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do 16678, South Korea
4
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California
, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
a)
Email: [email protected]
b)
Email: [email protected]
J. Appl. Phys. 123, 205106 (2018)
Article history
Received:
April 07 2018
Accepted:
May 05 2018
Citation
Sunmi Shin, Jong Wook Roh, Hyun-Sik Kim, Renkun Chen; Role of surfactant on thermoelectric behaviors of organic-inorganic composites. J. Appl. Phys. 28 May 2018; 123 (20): 205106. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5033920
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