Combustion process of thermoelectric carbon nanotube/polymer composite films and application to three-dimensional stacked paper thermoelectric generator

Abstract

The use of polymer additives is effective for the fabrication of homogeneous single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) films. However, the polymer chains located on the surface of SWCNT bundles act as barriers for electrical transport between SWCNTs and the chemical doping of SWCNTs. In this study, the combustion process of freestanding SWCNT/polymer films for the effective removal of the polymer additive and thermoelectric applications were investigated. By introducing the combustion process, high-performance p-type and n-type thermoelectric buckypapers were fabricated. The combusted and FeCl3-doped buckypapers with excellent electrical conductivity can be used as electrode materials in thermoelectric generators. Furthermore, a paper-based thermoelectric generator three-dimensional stacked for efficient energy harvesting using the vertical temperature difference was demonstrated. The thermoelectric generator with a thermal contact area of 1.2 cm2 exhibited a maximum output power of 2.48 µW with a vertical temperature difference of 30 K.