Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ultralight conducting PEDOT:PSS/carbon nanotube aerogels doped with silver for thermoelectric materials

银掺杂PEDOT: PSS/碳纳米管超轻导电气凝胶热电材料

  • Articles
  • Published:
Science China Materials Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A significant enhancement in the thermoelectric performance was observed for three-dimensional conducting aerogels, which were obtained from poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(4-styrenesulfonic) (PEDOT:PSS) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) suspensions by adding different concentrations of metallic silver (Ag). It was found that the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient could be simultaneously increased with the unique structure. Moreover, the conducting aerogels have an ultralow thermal conductivity (0.06 W m−1 K−1) and a large Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area (228 m2 g−1). The highest figure of merit (zT) value in this study was 7.56×10−3 at room temperature upon the addition of 33.32 wt.% Ag. Although the zT value was too low, our work may provide new insights into the design and development of the thermoelectric material for applications. Further investigation with PEDOT:PSS aerogels will be continued to get an economical, lightweight, and efficient polymer thermoelectric material.

摘要

本文以导电高分子PEDOT:PSS、多壁碳纳米管(MWCNTs)、银纳米片(Ag)为原料制备了导电复合气凝胶. 研究发现, 该材料具有特 殊的3D网络结构, 并且该结构的存在有利于复合材料电导率和Seebeck系数同时提高, 而热导率保持较低水平. 室温下复合材料热导率低至 0.06 Wm−1 k−1, 比表面积高达228 m2 g−1. 当Ag含量为33.32%时, 该气凝胶热电材料室温下zT值最高为7.56×10−3. 虽然该zT值仍较低, 尚不能 用于实际生产, 但本研究为热电材料的设计和开发利用提供了新的设计方法. 下一步工作将立足于PEDOT:PSS气凝胶制备经济、轻质、高 效的聚合物热电材料.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Zhao LD, Lo SH, Zhang Y, et al. Ultralowthermal conductivity and high thermoelectric figure of merit in SnSe crystals. Nature, 2014, 508: 373–377

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Sparks TD, Gurlo A, Clarke DR. Enhanced n-type thermopower in distortion-free LiMn2O4. J Mater Chem, 2012, 22: 4631–4636

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Zhang JS, Yang JY, Feng SL, et al. Preparation and thermoelectric properties of p-type Bi0.52Sb1.48Te3 + 3% Te thin films. Chin Sci Bull, 2012, 57: 4220–4224

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Wei Q, Mukaida M, Kirihara K, et al. Recent progress on PEDOTbased thermoelectric materials. Materials, 2015, 8: 732–750

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Toshima N, Ichikawa S. Conducting polymers and their hybrids as organic thermoelectric materials. J ElecMateri, 2015, 44: 384–390

    Google Scholar 

  6. Sun K, Zhang S, Li P, et al. Review on application of PEDOTs and PEDOT:PSS in energy conversion and storage devices. J Mater Sci-Mater Electron, 2015, 26: 4438–4462

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Park H, Lee SH, Kim FS, et al. Enhanced thermoelectric properties of PEDOT:PSS nanofilms by a chemical dedoping process. J Mater Chem A, 2014, 2: 6532–6539

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Du Y, Shen SZ, Cai K, et al. Research progress on polymer-inorganic thermoelectric nanocomposite materials. Prog Polymer Sci, 2012, 37: 820–841

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Zhou Y, Wang L, Zhang H, et al. Enhanced high thermal conductivity and low permittivity of polyimide based composites by core-shell Ag@SiO2 nanoparticle fillers. Appl Phys Lett, 2012, 101: 012903

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Han Z, Fina A. Thermal conductivity of carbon nanotubes and their polymer nanocomposites: a review. Prog Polymer Sci, 2011, 36: 914–944

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Dubey N, Leclerc M. Conducting polymers: efficient thermoelectric materials. J Polym Sci B Polym Phys, 2011, 49: 467–475

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Islam R, Chan-Yu-King R, Brun JF, et al. Transport and thermoelectric properties of polyaniline/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites. Nanotechnology, 2014, 25: 475705

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Zuzok R, Kaiser AB, Pukacki W, et al. Thermoelectric power and conductivity of iodine-doped “new” polyacetylene. J Chem Phys, 1991, 95: 1270–1275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Wang L, Jia X, Wang D, et al. Preparation and thermoelectric properties of polythiophene/multiwalled carbon nanotube composites. Synth Met, 2013, 181: 79–85

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Wang J, Cai K, Shen S, et al. Preparation and thermoelectric properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes/polypyrrole composites. Synth Met, 2014, 195: 132–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Chen HY, Shen HP, Wu CH, et al. Core-shell composite latexes derived from PEDOT:PSS dispersion and the preparation of conductive, flexible and transparent films. J Mater Chem C, 2013, 1: 5351–5358

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Han S, Feng Y, Chen G, et al. Facile preparation of composites composed of high performance thermoplastic and difficult-to-process functional polymer. RSC Adv, 2014, 4: 31874–31878

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Park T, Park C, Kim B, et al. Flexible PEDOT electrodes with large thermoelectric power factors to generate electricity by the touch of fingertips. Energ Environ Sci, 2013, 6: 788–792

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Mengistie DA, Chen CH, Boopathi KM, et al. Enhanced thermoelectric performance of PEDOT:PSS flexible bulky papers by treatment with secondary dopants. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces, 2015, 7: 94–100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Kim GH, Shao L, Zhang K, et al. Engineered doping of organic semiconductors for enhanced thermoelectric efficiency. Nat Mater, 2013, 12: 719–723

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Ju H, Kim J. Chemically exfoliated SnSe nanosheets and their SnSe/poly(3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate) composite films for polymer based thermoelectric applications. ACS Nano, 2016, 10: 5730–5739

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Du Y, Shen SZ, Yang WD, et al. Preparation and characterization of multiwalled carbon nanotube/poly(3-hexylthiophene) thermoelectric composite materials. Synth Met, 2012, 162: 375–380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Zhao L, Zhao J, Sun X, et al. Enhanced thermoelectric properties of hybridized conducting aerogels based on carbon nanotubes and pyrolyzed resorcinol-formaldehyde resin. Synth Met, 2015, 205: 64–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Zhang Z, Chen G, Wang H, et al. Template-directed in situ polymerization preparation of nanocomposites of PEDOT:PSS-coated multi-walled carbon nanotubes with enhanced thermoelectric property. Chem Asian J, 2015, 10: 149–153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Zhang M, Yuan W, Yao B, et al. Solution-processed PEDOT: PSS/graphene composites as the electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction. ACSApplMater Interfaces, 2014, 6: 3587–3593

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Kong FF, Liu CC, Xu JK, et al. Simultaneous enhancement of electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient of poly(3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate) films treated with urea. Chin Phys Lett, 2011, 28: 037201

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Culebras M, Gómez CM, Cantarero A. Enhanced thermoelectric performance of PEDOT with different counter-ions optimized by chemical reduction. J Mater Chem A, 2014, 2: 10109–10115

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Toshima N, Jiravanichanun N. Improvement of thermoelectric properties of PEDOT/PSS films by addition of gold nanoparticles: enhancement of Seebeck coefficient. J Elec Materi, 2013, 42: 1882–1887

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Kim D, Kim Y, Choi K, et al. Improved thermoelectric behavior of nanotube-filled polymer composites with poly(3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate). ACS Nano, 2010, 4: 513–523

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Jiang FX, Xu JK, Lu BY, et al. Thermoelectric performance of poly(3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate). Chin Phys Lett, 2008, 25: 2202–2205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Qian Y, Ismail IM, Stein A. Ultralight, high-surface-area, multifunctional graphene-based aerogels from self-assembly of graphene oxide and resol. Carbon, 2014, 68: 221–231

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Zhao L, Sun X, Lei Z, et al. Thermoelectric behavior of aerogels based on graphene and multi-walled carbon nanotube nanocomposites. Composites Part B-Eng, 2015, 83: 317–322

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Lázár I, Bereczki HF, Manó S, et al. Synthesis and study of new functionalized silica aerogel poly(methylmethacrylate) composites for biomedical use. Polym Compos, 2015, 36: 348–358

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Roussel F, King RCY, Kuriakose M, et al. Electrical and thermal transport properties of polyaniline/silver composites and their use as thermoelectric materials. Synth Met, 2015, 199: 196–204

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Chang KC, Jeng MS, Yang CC, et al. The thermoelectric performance of poly(3, 4-ethylenedi oxythiophene)/poly(4-styrenesulfonate) thin films. J Elec Materi, 2009, 38: 1182–1188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Lei Z, Yan Y, Feng J, et al. Enhanced power factor within graphene hybridized carbon aerogels. RSC Adv, 2015, 5: 25650–25656

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Gutiérrez MC, Rubio F, del Monte F. Resorcinol-formaldehyde polycondensation in deep eutectic solvents for the preparation of carbons and carbon-carbon nanotube composites. Chem Mater, 2010, 22: 2711–2719

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Kim JY, Jung JH, Lee DE, et al. Enhancement of electrical conductivity of poly(3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(4-styrenesulfonate) by a change of solvents. Synth Met, 2002, 126: 311–316

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. He M, Ge J, Lin Z, et al. Thermopower enhancement in conducting polymer nanocomposites via carrier energy scattering at the organic-inorganic semiconductor interface. Energ Environ Sci, 2012, 5: 8351–8358

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Ko DK, Kang Y, Murray CB. Enhanced thermopower via carrier energy filtering in solution-processable Pt-Sb2Te3 nanocomposites. Nano Lett, 2011, 11: 2841–2844

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Martin J, Wang L, Chen L, et al. Enhanced Seebeck coefficient through energy-barrier scattering in PbTe nanocomposites. Phys Rev B, 2009, 79: 115311

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Kim P, Shi L, Majumdar A, et al. Thermal transport measurements of individual multiwalled nanotubes. Phys Rev Lett, 2001, 87: 215502

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Chang WB, Fang H, Liu J, et al. Electrochemical effects in thermoelectric polymers. ACS Macro Lett, 2016, 5: 455–459

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Liu J, Wang X, Li D, et al. Thermal conductivity and elastic constants of PEDOT:PSS with high electrical conductivity. Macromolecules, 2015, 48: 585–591

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Song H, Liu C, Zhu H, et al. Improved thermoelectric performance of free-standing PEDOT:PSS/Bi2Te3 films with low thermal conductivity. J Elec Materi, 2013, 42: 1268–1274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Hrubesh LW, Pekala RW. Thermal properties of organic and inorganic aerogels. J Mater Res, 1994, 9: 731–738

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Lee OJ, Lee KH, Jin Yim T, et al. Determination of mesopore size of aerogels fromthermal conductivitymeasurements. J Non-Crystalline Solids, 2002, 298: 287–292

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51303116).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610068, China

    Xijing Sun  (孙希静), Yanhong Wei  (魏燕红), Juanjuan Li  (李娟娟), Jinghong Zhao  (赵敬红), Lijuan Zhao  (赵丽娟) & Quan Li  (李权)

Authors
  1. Xijing Sun  (孙希静)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yanhong Wei  (魏燕红)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Juanjuan Li  (李娟娟)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jinghong Zhao  (赵敬红)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Lijuan Zhao  (赵丽娟)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Quan Li  (李权)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Lijuan Zhao  (赵丽娟) or Quan Li  (李权).

Additional information

Xijng Sun is a master student of the College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Sichuan Normal University. She joined Prof. Lijuan Zhao’s group in 2014 and her current research interests include the preparation and properties of thermoelectric materials.

Lijuan Zhao is a professor of chemistry at the College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Sichuan Normal University. She received his PhD degree in materials science from Sichuan University in 2009, followed by a period of postdoctoral research at Xinjiang Blue Ridge Tunhe Chemical Industry Joint Stock Co, Ltd. Her research interests include the structure performance study of functional materials; synthesis, characterization, and self-assembly of nanomaterials.

Quan Li is a professor of chemistry at the College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Sichuan Normal University. He received his PhD degree in atomic and molecular physics from Sichuan University in 2001. His research interests include the preparation and application study of materials.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sun, X., Wei, Y., Li, J. et al. Ultralight conducting PEDOT:PSS/carbon nanotube aerogels doped with silver for thermoelectric materials. Sci. China Mater. 60, 159–166 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-016-5132-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-016-5132-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation