20 research outputs found
Harvesting Waste Heat in Unipolar Ion Conducting Polymers
The
Seebeck effect in unipolar ion-conducting, solid-state polymers
is characterized. The high Seebeck coefficient and sign in polymer
ion conductors is explained via analysis of thermogalvanic multicomponent
transport. A solid-state, water-processeable, flexible device based
on these materials is demonstrated, showcasing the promise of polymers
as thermogalvanic materials. Thermogalvanic materials based on ion-conducting
polymer membranes show great promise in the harvesting of waste heat
Electrochemical Effects in Thermoelectric Polymers
Conductive polymers such as PEDOT:PSS
hold great promise as flexible
thermoelectric devices. The thermoelectric power factor of PEDOT:PSS
is small relative to inorganic materials because the Seebeck coefficient
is small. Ion conducting materials have previously been demonstrated
to have very large Seebeck coefficients, and a major advantage of
polymers over inorganics is the high room temperature ionic conductivity.
Notably, PEDOT:PSS demonstrates a significant but short-term increase
in Seebeck coefficient which is attributed to a large ionic Seebeck
contribution. By controlling whether electrochemistry occurs at the
PEDOT:PSS/electrode interface, the duration of the ionic Seebeck enhancement
can be controlled, and a material can be designed with long-lived
ionic Seebeck enhancements