Facile Fabrication of <i>N</i>-Type Flexible CoSb<sub>3-x</sub>Te<sub>x</sub> Skutterudite/PEDOT:PSS Hybrid Thermoelectric Films
Alongiside the growing demand for wearable and implantable electronics, the development of flexible thermoelectric (FTE) materials holds great promise and has recently become a highly necessitated and efficient method for converting heat to electricity. Conductive polymers were widely used in previo...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2022-05-01
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| Series: | Polymers |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/10/1986 |
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| author | Asahi Kato Cédric Bourgès Hong Pang Daniel Gutiérrez Takeaki Sakurai Takao Mori |
| author_facet | Asahi Kato Cédric Bourgès Hong Pang Daniel Gutiérrez Takeaki Sakurai Takao Mori |
| author_sort | Asahi Kato |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Alongiside the growing demand for wearable and implantable electronics, the development of flexible thermoelectric (FTE) materials holds great promise and has recently become a highly necessitated and efficient method for converting heat to electricity. Conductive polymers were widely used in previous research; however, <i>n</i>-type polymers suffer from instability compared to the <i>p</i>-type polymers, which results in a deficiency in the <i>n</i>-type TE leg for FTE devices. The development of the <i>n</i>-type FTE is still at a relatively early stage with limited applicable materials, insufficient conversion efficiency, and issues such as an undesirably high cost or toxic element consumption. In this work, as a prototype, a flexible <i>n</i>-type rare-earth free skutterudite (CoSb<sub>3</sub>)/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) binary thermoelectric film was fabricated based on ball-milled skutterudite via a facile top-down method, which is promising to be widely applicable to the hybridization of conventional bulk TE materials. The polymers bridge the separated thermoelectric particles and provide a conducting pathway for carriers, leading to an enhancement in electrical conductivity and a competitive Seebeck coefficient. The current work proposes a rational design towards FTE devices and provides a perspective for the exploration of conventional thermoelectric materials for wearable electronics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:02:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d35a085fcf8748d8815b95148453a085 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4360 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:02:10Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Polymers |
| spelling | doaj.art-d35a085fcf8748d8815b95148453a0852023-11-23T12:45:39ZengMDPI AGPolymers2073-43602022-05-011410198610.3390/polym14101986Facile Fabrication of <i>N</i>-Type Flexible CoSb<sub>3-x</sub>Te<sub>x</sub> Skutterudite/PEDOT:PSS Hybrid Thermoelectric FilmsAsahi Kato0Cédric Bourgès1Hong Pang2Daniel Gutiérrez3Takeaki Sakurai4Takao Mori5International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (WPI-MANA), NIMS, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba 305-0044, Ibaraki, JapanInternational Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (WPI-MANA), NIMS, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba 305-0044, Ibaraki, JapanInternational Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (WPI-MANA), NIMS, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba 305-0044, Ibaraki, JapanInternational Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (WPI-MANA), NIMS, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba 305-0044, Ibaraki, JapanGraduate School of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba 305-8577, Ibaraki, JapanInternational Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (WPI-MANA), NIMS, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba 305-0044, Ibaraki, JapanAlongiside the growing demand for wearable and implantable electronics, the development of flexible thermoelectric (FTE) materials holds great promise and has recently become a highly necessitated and efficient method for converting heat to electricity. Conductive polymers were widely used in previous research; however, <i>n</i>-type polymers suffer from instability compared to the <i>p</i>-type polymers, which results in a deficiency in the <i>n</i>-type TE leg for FTE devices. The development of the <i>n</i>-type FTE is still at a relatively early stage with limited applicable materials, insufficient conversion efficiency, and issues such as an undesirably high cost or toxic element consumption. In this work, as a prototype, a flexible <i>n</i>-type rare-earth free skutterudite (CoSb<sub>3</sub>)/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) binary thermoelectric film was fabricated based on ball-milled skutterudite via a facile top-down method, which is promising to be widely applicable to the hybridization of conventional bulk TE materials. The polymers bridge the separated thermoelectric particles and provide a conducting pathway for carriers, leading to an enhancement in electrical conductivity and a competitive Seebeck coefficient. The current work proposes a rational design towards FTE devices and provides a perspective for the exploration of conventional thermoelectric materials for wearable electronics.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/10/1986<i>n</i>-typeskutteruditePEDOT:PSSfilmflexiblethermoelectric |
| spellingShingle | Asahi Kato Cédric Bourgès Hong Pang Daniel Gutiérrez Takeaki Sakurai Takao Mori Facile Fabrication of <i>N</i>-Type Flexible CoSb<sub>3-x</sub>Te<sub>x</sub> Skutterudite/PEDOT:PSS Hybrid Thermoelectric Films Polymers <i>n</i>-type skutterudite PEDOT:PSS film flexible thermoelectric |
| title | Facile Fabrication of <i>N</i>-Type Flexible CoSb<sub>3-x</sub>Te<sub>x</sub> Skutterudite/PEDOT:PSS Hybrid Thermoelectric Films |
| title_full | Facile Fabrication of <i>N</i>-Type Flexible CoSb<sub>3-x</sub>Te<sub>x</sub> Skutterudite/PEDOT:PSS Hybrid Thermoelectric Films |
| title_fullStr | Facile Fabrication of <i>N</i>-Type Flexible CoSb<sub>3-x</sub>Te<sub>x</sub> Skutterudite/PEDOT:PSS Hybrid Thermoelectric Films |
| title_full_unstemmed | Facile Fabrication of <i>N</i>-Type Flexible CoSb<sub>3-x</sub>Te<sub>x</sub> Skutterudite/PEDOT:PSS Hybrid Thermoelectric Films |
| title_short | Facile Fabrication of <i>N</i>-Type Flexible CoSb<sub>3-x</sub>Te<sub>x</sub> Skutterudite/PEDOT:PSS Hybrid Thermoelectric Films |
| title_sort | facile fabrication of i n i type flexible cosb sub 3 x sub te sub x sub skutterudite pedot pss hybrid thermoelectric films |
| topic | <i>n</i>-type skutterudite PEDOT:PSS film flexible thermoelectric |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/10/1986 |
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