Improved Thermoelectric Power Factor in Completely Organic Nanocomposite Enabled by l-Ascorbic Acid

High power factor organic thermoelectric nanocomposites are assembled by alternately depositing polyaniline (PANi) and double walled-carbon nanotubes (DWNT), stabilized by graphene oxide (GO) in water, using the layer-by-layer assembly technique. A 40 bilayer (BL) thin film, comprised of a PANi/DWNT–GO repeating sequence, exhibits an electrical conductivity of 197 S/cm and Seebeck coefficient of 83 μV/K. The reduction of this system with l-ascorbic acid simultaneously increases the electrical conductivity (to 950 S/cm) and Seebeck coefficient (to 115 μV/K), yielding a power factor of 1260 μW/m·K2. This relatively simple treatment creates more opportunity for practical use of organic thermoelectrics.