Significant Enhancement in the Seebeck Coefficient and Power Factor of a Thermoelectric Polymer Through the Incorporation of MXene

Thermoelectric (TE) materials are important for sustainable development because they can directly convert heat into electricity. Compared with inorganic TE materials, conductive polymers have demonstrated unique advantages. But their TE properties, particularly the Seebeck coefficient, must be greatly enhanced for practical application. Here, I will present the significant enhancement in the Seebeck coefficient and thus the overall thermoelectric properties of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) that is hte most popular thermoelectric polyme through the incorporation of MXene. MXene can enhance the Seebeck coefficient from 23 up to 57.3 μV K⁻¹ and the power factor from 44.1 to 155 μW m⁻¹ K⁻². Tjhis is the first time to achieve the enhancement in the Seebeck coefficient of a p-type TE polymer by an n-type filler.