Enhancing Thermoelectric Performance of Polyaniline/Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Composites via Dimethyl Sulfoxide-Mediated Electropolymerization

Abstract

The fabrication of flexible high-performance organic/inorganic thermoelectric (TE) composite films has been a hot spot for researchers in recent years. In this work, dynamic 3-phase interfacial electropolymerization of aniline, together with physical mixing with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), was adopted to prepare polyaniline/SWCNT (PANI/SWCNT) TE composites. The dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) added into the electrochemical polymerization system affords strong capability in improving the TE performance of composite films. Moreover, varying loadings of SWCNTs can also conveniently tune the TE performance of composites. Hence, the resultant composites afford the highest power factor (PF) of 236.4 ± 5.9 μW m–1 K–2 at room temperature. This work demonstrates that the introduction of DMSO into the electrolyte and the electrochemical polymerization are highly effective in fabricating high-performance PANI/SWCNT TE composites.

Composite Aerogel of Electropolymerized Polyaniline and SWCNTs with High Thermoelectric Performance

“…Similar phenomena are observed in previous literature. [10] Compared with electrical conductivity, the Seebeck coefficient changes differently, it increases monotonically with rising SWCNTs content. Therefore, the highest Seebeck coefficient of PANI/SWCNT composite aerogel reaches 48.51 ± 0.59 μV K −1 at 90 wt% SWCNTs.…”

“…However, the thermoelectric performance of the currently prepared aerogel thermoelectric materials is low, so it still needs to be further improved. In our previous work, [10,11] electrochemical polymerization proved highly effective in preparing conductive polymers with enhanced thermoelectric performance, because it can not only control the degree of oxidation of the product by adjusting the electrode potential, but also obtain high purity product. Therefore, the aerogel structure capable of suppressing the thermal conductivity is introduced into the thermoelectric material prepared by electrochemical polymerization, to ultimately improve the TE performance of the aerogel material.…”

Recent Advances in Polyaniline-Based Thermoelectric Composites

“…Recently, Yin et al reported that with the presence of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) in the electrolyte during the electrochemical polymerization of PANI, greatly enhanced ordered molecular structures of PANI were introduced (Figure 4g). 35 Therefore, higher σ and a minimum impact on S of PANI/DMSO/SWCNT composites were obtained at the same SWCNT loadings compared to the PANI/SWCNT composites, leading to an enhanced PF over 236.4 μW m -1 K -2 . Moreover, more ordered structures can also be realized by mechanical stretching, which induces polymer chains aligned parallel to the drawing direction, leading to dramatically enhanced σ.…”

Bioinspired Dynamically Switchable PANI/PS‐b‐P2VP Thin Films for Multicolored Electrochromic Displays with Long‐Term Durability

“…[ 7,42 ] The co‐existence of the quinoid and benzenoid structures in PANI is further confirmed by Raman spectra in Figure S1b, Supporting Information, where a strong peak at 1330 cm− 1 can be assigned to ν(CN) stretching modes in aromatic amines and the peak at 1511 cm− 1 corresponds to ν(CN) stretching modes in diamine. [ 44 ]…”

“…[7,42] The co-existence of the quinoid and benzenoid structures in PANI is further confirmed by Raman spectra in Figure S1b, Supporting Information, where a strong peak at 1330 cm− 1 can be assigned to ν(CN) stretching modes in aromatic amines and the peak at 1511 cm− 1 corresponds to ν(CN) stretching modes in diamine. [44] The surface features of the PANI and PANI/PS-b-P2VP thin films were recorded by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The morphologies of PANI thin films in Figure 2b-d are dense and uniform, with an average particle size of ≈143 nm for the electrodeposition time of 300 s to a larger average particle size of 273 nm for 400 s and ≈286 nm for 500 s. The features observed in the SEM images clearly indicated that longer time would lead to the aggregation of the PANI particles, resulting in increased roughness of the PANI thin film.…”