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To achieve low thermal conductivity, polythiophene (PTh)/bismuth telluride (Bi 2 Te 3 ) nanocomposite has been prepared by spark plasma sintering using a mixture of nanosized Bi 2 Te 3 and PTh powders. Bi 2 Te 3 powder with sphericalshaped particles of 30 nm diameter and PTh nanosheet powder were first prepared by hydrothermal synthesis and chemical oxidation, respectively. X-ray diffraction analysis and scanning electron microscopy observations revealed that the hybrid composite consists of PTh nanosheets and spherical Bi 2 Te 3 . The organic PTh acts as an adhesive in the composite. Transport measurements showed that the PTh in the Bi 2 Te 3 matrix can reduce its thermal conductivity significantly, but also dramatically reduces its electrical conductivity. As a result, the figure of merit of the composite is lower than that of pure Bi 2 Te 3 prepared under the same conditions. The maximum value of ZT for the sample with 5% PTh (by weight) was 0.18 at 473 K, which is rather high compared with other polymer/inorganic thermoelectric material composites.

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