Achieving Ultrahigh n‐Type Thermoelectric Power Factor in an Intrinsically Large Transport‐Fermi Energy Gap Conjugated Polymer
Abstract
Abstract The conductivity of organic thermoelectric materials has seen significant improvements in the past few years, but often at the expense of the Seebeck coefficient. Consequently, the thermoelectric performance, especially for n‐type materials, remains considerably lower than that of their inorganic counterparts. Herein, a high‐performance n‐type thermoelectric polymer, P(TDPP‐BT‐LEG) is reported, with an unexpectedly high Seebeck coefficient and ultrahigh power factor, driven by its intrinsically large energy gap between the Fermi and transport energy levels and high charge carrier mobility. Notably, it is shown that strong electrostatic interactions induced by the ethylene glycol side chains facilitate charge transfer between the dopants and the polymer. This enables effective doping of polymers with high LUMO levels. Furthermore, efficient charge transport, arising from favorable molecular packing, allows the polymer to maintain high electrical conductivity even at low charge carrier concentrations. Ultimately, this polymer achieves a record‐high n‐type power factor of 397 µW m −1 K −2 , with a high Seebeck coefficient of −420 µV K ‒1 . This study highlights the potential of enhancing the Seebeck coefficient through precise energy level tuning and molecular design, fundamentally advancing the rational design of high‐performance organic thermoelectric materials.
Article Details
Authors (15)
Jingyi Wang
Chengwen Wu
Zhibo Ren
Shuang‐Yan Tian
National Key Laboratory of Advanced Micro and Nano Manufacture Technology Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education School of Materials Science and Engineering Peking University Beijing 100871 P. R. China
Qianyu Ding
National Key Laboratory of Advanced Micro and Nano Manufacture Technology Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education School of Materials Science and Engineering Peking University Beijing 100871 P. R. China
Xiran Pan
Xin‐Yu Deng
National Key Laboratory of Advanced Micro and Nano Manufacture Technology Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education School of Materials Science and Engineering Peking University Beijing 100871 P. R. China
Jupeng Chen
Jiatong Li
Juanrong Wang
National Key Laboratory of Advanced Micro and Nano Manufacture Technology Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education School of Materials Science and Engineering Peking University Beijing 100871 P. R. China
Chen‐Kai Pan
Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS) Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education Center of Soft Matter Science and Engineering College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering Peking University Beijing 100871 P. R. China
Kai Liu
Jia Zhu
National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Sustainable Energy and Resources, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Artificial Functional Materials, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling
Zhi Zhang
Ting Lei