| Summary: | A solution-processable Ag<sub>2</sub>Se nanoparticle thin film (NPTF) is a prospective thermoelectric material for plastic-based thermoelectric generators, but its low electrical conductivity hinders the fabrication of high performance plastic-based thermoelectric generators. In this study, we design Ag<sub>2</sub>Se NPTFs embedded with silicon nanowires (SiNWs) to improve their thermoelectric characteristics. The Seebeck coefficients are −233 and −240 µV/K, respectively, for a Ag<sub>2</sub>Se NPTF alone and a Ag<sub>2</sub>Se NPTF embedded with SiNWs. For the Ag<sub>2</sub>Se NPTF embedded with SiNWs, the electrical conductivity is improved from 0.15 to 18.5 S/m with the embedment of SiNWs. The thermal conductivities are determined by a lateral thermal conductivity measurement for nanomaterials and the thermal conductivities are 0.62 and 0.84 W/(m·K) for a Ag<sub>2</sub>Se NPTF alone and a Ag<sub>2</sub>Se NPTF embedded with SiNWs, respectively. Due to the significant increase in the electrical conductivity and the insignificant increase in its thermal conductivity, the output power of the Ag<sub>2</sub>Se NPTF embedded with SiNWs is 120 times greater than that of the Ag<sub>2</sub>Se NPTF alone. Our results demonstrate that the Ag<sub>2</sub>Se NPTF embedded with SiNWs is a prospective thermoelectric material for high performance plastic-based thermoelectric generators.
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