Facile preparation of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate)/Ag2Te nanorod composite films for flexible thermoelectric generator

In this work, poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly (styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) coated silver telluride (PCAg2Te) nanorods were prepared by a wet-chemical method using the PEDOT:PSS coated tellurium (PCTe) nanorods as the templates. Flexible PCAg2Te nanocomposite film on polyethersulfone (PES) substrate was prepared through vacuum filtration followed by mechanical pressing process. An optimal PCAg2Te nanocomposite film showed a maximum power factor of 143.3 μW/mK2 at room temperature and 221.7 μW/mK2 at 373 K. The electrical conductivity of the PCAg2Te composite film decreased by ∼ 3.3% after bending for 1000 times around a rod with a radius of 5 mm. An eight-leg thermoelectric generator assembled with the optimal PCAg2Te nanocomposite film generated a maximum output power and output density of 209.4 nW and 141.5 μW/cm2 at a temperature gradient of 30.3 K. This work provides a facile method to prepare thermoelectric materials for flexible thermoelectric generators.