Thermoelectric Properties of Flexible Polyvinyl Alcohol/Poly (3,4- Ethylenedioxy thiophene)/Titanium Carbide Ternary Composites

Abstract

The thermoelectric (TE) characteristics of polyvinyl alcohol/poly (3,4-ethylenedioxy thiophene)/titanium carbide (PVA/PEDOT/TiC) composites were explored in this work. The composite films with varying TiC weight ratios were made using the solvent casting process. The homogeneous distribution of TiC particles in the composite structure was revealed by SEM micrographs. The presence of TiC particles in the crystallinity of PVA/PEDOT was revealed by XRD patterns. The electrostatic interactions in the composite structure were revealed by FTIR-ATR studies. The electrical conductivity of PVA/PEDOT rose from 0.06 S/cm to 1.15 S/cm with the contribution of 5% TiC, while the Seebeck coefficient increased from 3.9 µV/K to 98.8 µV/K with the contribution of 1% TiC, according to TE studies. The composite samples exhibited a maximum power factor of 0.72 µW/mK2 , which is 104 times greater compared to PVA/PEDOT.

Keywords

• Thermoelectric
• polymer
• composite
• polyvinyl alcohol
• PEDOT:PSS
• titanium carbide

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