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Low-temperature thermoelectric performance of novel polyaniline/iron oxide composites with superior Seebeck coefficient

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Abstract

The large amount of heat loss at low temperatures (up to 250 °C), more than 70% of the total waste heat, motivates the market to develop new materials for low-temperature thermoelectric applications. To this end, organic materials can be excellent potential candidates with the additional advantages of light weight, ease of synthesis and processing, eco-friendly and being sustainable materials. Herein, we demonstrate the synthesis of polyaniline (PANI) in its conductive emeraldine form via a facile chemical oxidative polymerization process. The conductivity of the fabricated PANI, with exceptional low degree of protonation and additional structure deflection, originates from the excess Cl− anions/imines (–N=) interactions. Micro/nano-spheres and different regular shapes are formed with inherent nano-flakes/fibers structures. These structures are intrinsically ferric oxide clouds that finally result in a novel composite of PANI/ferric oxide, as confirmed via the FESEM, EDX, XRD and FTIR analyses. Different dopant concentrations (0.1–2 M HCl) and initiator concentrations (0.5–3 M FeCl3) were screened to identify the appropriate yield with the highest thermoelectric energy conversion efficiency. Our recipe with low degree of protonation resulted in semiconductor-to-metallic transformation point with a composite that has a superior Seebeck coefficient of 158 µV/k, which has not ever reported for pristine PANI and also with a moderate electrical conductivity of 0.0017 S/cm at 150 °C.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by The American University in Cairo.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Energy Materials Laboratory, School of Sciences and Engineering, The American University in Cairo, New Cairo, 11835, Egypt

    Hussein Badr & Nageh K. Allam

  2. Faculty of Engineering, Department of Mining, Petroleum and Metallurgical Engineering, Cairo University, Giza, 12316, Egypt

    Hussein Badr, Iman S. El-Mahallawi & Fawzi A. Elrefaie

  3. Centre for Renewable Energy, British University in Egypt, Cairo, 11837, Egypt

    Iman S. El-Mahallawi

Authors
  1. Hussein Badr
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  2. Iman S. El-Mahallawi
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  3. Fawzi A. Elrefaie
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  4. Nageh K. Allam
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Correspondence to Nageh K. Allam.

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Badr, H., El-Mahallawi, I.S., Elrefaie, F.A. et al. Low-temperature thermoelectric performance of novel polyaniline/iron oxide composites with superior Seebeck coefficient. Appl. Phys. A 125, 524 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-019-2822-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-019-2822-3

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