Carbon Nanotube/Cellulose Acetate Composite Thermoelectric Papers

Abstract

Free-standing single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNCT)/cellulose acetate composite films were fabricated by a simple bar-coating method. A low-boiling solvent, acetone was used as a paste solvent. By simple brushing of a polyethylenimine/ethanol solution, n-type thermoelectric composite films were obtained. The optimal p-type and n-type power factors of the free-standing thermoelectric films were 1.41 ± 0.22 and 0.516 ± 0.172 W cm^(-1) K^(2) , respectively, at room temperature. By using the p-type and n-type thermoelectric papers, paper-based thermoelectric generator was successfully fabricated. The thermoelectric generator exhibits excellent energy harvesting capability. By applying the temperature difference of 10 K, the output power of 2.28 μW was obtained.