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Synergistic thermoelectric power factor increase in films incorporating tellurium and thiophene-based semiconductors

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Abstract

Two thiophene-based semiconductors, a vapor-deposited small molecule and an amorphous polymer, as well as pentacene for comparison, show potential in enhancing the thermoelectric properties of tellurium (Te) nanowires. For vapor-deposited films, Te nanostructures form directly on glass substrates or organic semiconductor films. The resulting Te power factor (S2σ) was enhanced from 36 to 45 W/mK2 (56 for pentacene) because the bilayer provides an enhancement in Seebeck (S) without compromising conductivity (a). For solution deposited polymer blends, we obtained power factors from a Te nanowire network that alone would not have sufficient connectivity (up to 0.1 µW/mK2). While the organics are unoptimized, they are prototypical materials for further development.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Department of Energy Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Grant Number DE-FG02-07ER46465 for support of this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 206 Maryland Hall, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland, 21218, USA

    Jasmine Sinha, Robert M. Ireland, Stephen J. Lee & Howard E. Katz

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  1. Jasmine Sinha
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  2. Robert M. Ireland
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  3. Stephen J. Lee
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  4. Howard E. Katz
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Correspondence to Howard E. Katz.

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These authors contributed equally to this work.

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Sinha, J., Ireland, R.M., Lee, S.J. et al. Synergistic thermoelectric power factor increase in films incorporating tellurium and thiophene-based semiconductors. MRS Communications 3, 97–100 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrc.2013.14

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