N-type thermoelectric performance of functionalized carbon nanotube-filled polymer composites. Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were functionalized with polyethyleneimine (PEI) and made into composites with polyvinyl acetate (PVAc). CNTs were dispersed with different amounts of sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) prior to the PEI functionalization. The resulting samples exhibit air-stable n-type characteristics with electrical conductivities as great as 1500 S/m and thermopowers as large as -100 V/K. Electrical conductivity and thermopower were strongly affected by CNT dispersion, improving the properties with better dispersion with high concentrations of SDBS. This improvement is believed to be due to the increase in the number of tubes that are evenly coated with PEI in a better-dispersed sample. Increasing the amount of PEI relative to the other constituents positively affects thermopower but not conductivity. Air exposure reduces both thermopower and conductivity presumably due to oxygen doping (which makes CNTs p-type), but stable values were reached within seven days following sample fabrication.

published proceedings

  • PLoS One

author list (cited authors)

  • Freeman, D. D., Choi, K., & Yu, C.

citation count

  • 72

complete list of authors

  • Freeman, Dallas D||Choi, Kyungwho||Yu, Choongho

editor list (cited editors)

  • Docoslis, A.

publication date

  • November 2012