Impact of Oligoether Side-Chain Length on the Thermoelectric Properties of a Polar Polythiophene
Review article, 2024

Conjugated polymers with oligoether side chains make up a promising class of thermoelectric materials. In this work, the impact of the side-chain length on the thermoelectric and mechanical properties of polythiophenes is investigated. Polymers with tri-, tetra-, or hexaethylene glycol side chains are compared, and the shortest length is found to result in thin films with the highest degree of order upon doping with the p-dopant 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (F(4)TCNQ). As a result, a stiff material with an electrical conductivity of up to 830 +/- 15 S cm(-1) is obtained, resulting in a thermoelectric power factor of about 21 mu W m(-1) K-2 in the case of as-cast films. Aging at ambient conditions results in an initial decrease in thermoelectric properties but then yields a highly stable performance for at least 3 months, with values of about 200 S cm(-1) and 5 mu W m(-1) K-2. Evidently, identification of the optimal side-chain length is an important criterion for the design of conjugated polymers for organic thermoelectrics.

conjugated polymer

chemical doping

organicthermoelectrics

side-chain length

electrical conductivity

Author

Mariavittoria Craighero

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry

Jiali Guo

Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

Sepideh Zokaei

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry

Sophie Griggs

University of Oxford

Junfu Tian

University of Oxford

Jesika Asatryan

University of A Coruña

Joost Kimpel

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry

Renee Kroon

Linköping University

Kai Xu

Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

Juan Sebastian Reparaz

Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

Jaime Martin

POLYMAT

University of A Coruña

Iain Mcculloch

University of Oxford

Mariano Campoy-Quiles

Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

Christian Müller

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry

ACS Applied Electronic Materials

26376113 (eISSN)

Vol. 6 5 2909-2916

Hybrid and Organic Thermoelectric Systems (HORATES)

European Commission (EC) (EC/H2020/955837), 2021-03-01 -- 2025-02-28.

Subject Categories

Polymer Chemistry

Inorganic Chemistry

Other Materials Engineering

DOI

10.1021/acsaelm.3c00936

More information

Latest update

6/18/2024