A simple thermoelectric device based on inorganic/organic composite thin film for energy harvesting

Abstract Thermoelectric materials have been widely used in the power generation and cooling. Tellurium (Te) nanomaterial has gained great attention due to its enhanced thermoelectric performance, however, the researches are lacking of practical applications for energy harvesting. Here, a simple thermoelectric device was built with n -type and p -type Te-based (Bi 2 Te 3 and Te-PEDOT:PSS composite) nanowires (NWs) thin film as legs for the first time. Firstly, a facile solution method was used to synthesize Te and Bi 2 Te 3 NWs. A composite thin film was composed of Te NWs and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) to achieve a higher thermoelectric performance and a better environmental stability. The thermoelectric thin film device, consisting of Bi 2 Te 3 NWs as n -type leg and Te-PEDOT:PSS as p -type leg, exhibits a stable output voltage of 56 mV and high output power density value of 32 μW cm −2 at temperature difference of 60 K, which is only 20% lower than that composed of commercial Bi 2 Te 3 . However, Te-based thin film device can effectively decrease its costs and be further improved to achieve a larger output voltage in the future.