Thermoelectric and Electrochemical Properties of Highly Ordered Conducting Polymer/Carbon Nanotube Structures

• Main Author: Mohd Abid, Mohd Asyadi Azam
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: QD Chemistry; TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
• Online Access: http://eprints.utem.edu.my/id/eprint/8737/1/Balazs_Endrodi_12th_WEEM_Abstract-_asyadi.pdf; http://eprints.utem.edu.my/id/eprint/8737/

Several conducting polymers show promisingly high Seebeck-coefficient (up to some mV/K), which rises up the opportunity of their thermoelectric application. In addition, the low thermal conductivity of these materials is also favourable. The only drawback of using conducting polymers in thermoelectric cells is their usually low electric conductivity – which can be overcome either by doping (which also influences the other two parameters) or by forming conducting polymer based composites. In this study we demonstrate how conducting polymer/carbon nanotube composites with highly ordered structure can be fabricated in two different manners: -By the electrochemical deposition of poly(3-hexylthiophene) into a well ordered single- walled carbon nanotube “forest” -By exploiting the self-assembling behaviour of poly(3-hexylthiophene) on dispersed multi- walled carbon nanotube, from a special solution mixture The structures of the as-prepared nanocomposites were characterized by Transmission and Scanning Electron Microscopy, UV-Vis, Raman and Infrared Spectroscopy. It was proven by cyclic voltammetry, that the conducting polymer retains its electroactivity in the composites. The thermoelectric behaviour of the composites was characterized by the measurement of the conductivity and the Seebeck-coefficient.