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      Optimization of the thermoelectric figure of merit in the conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene).

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          Abstract

          Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) transform a heat flow into electricity. Thermoelectric materials are being investigated for electricity production from waste heat (co-generation) and natural heat sources. For temperatures below 200 °C, the best commercially available inorganic semiconductors are bismuth telluride (Bi(2)Te(3))-based alloys, which possess a figure of merit ZT close to one. Most of the recently discovered thermoelectric materials with ZT>2 exhibit one common property, namely their low lattice thermal conductivities. Nevertheless, a high ZT value is not enough to create a viable technology platform for energy harvesting. To generate electricity from large volumes of warm fluids, heat exchangers must be functionalized with TEGs. This requires thermoelectric materials that are readily synthesized, air stable, environmentally friendly and solution processable to create patterns on large areas. Here we show that conducting polymers might be capable of meeting these demands. The accurate control of the oxidation level in poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) combined with its low intrinsic thermal conductivity (λ=0.37 W m(-1) K(-1)) yields a ZT=0.25 at room temperature that approaches the values required for efficient devices.

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          Author and article information

          Journal
          Nat Mater
          Nature materials
          Springer Science and Business Media LLC
          1476-1122
          1476-1122
          Jun 2011
          : 10
          : 6
          Affiliations
          [1 ] Organic Electronics, Department of Science and Technology,Campus Norrköping, Linköping University, SE-60174 Norrköping, Sweden.
          Article
          nmat3012
          10.1038/nmat3012
          21532583
          888a4547-115b-4bdd-930f-8fe15ce67b73
          © 2011 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved
          History

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