title: Thermoelectric properties of porous multi-walled carbon nanotube/polyaniline core/shell nanocomposites.
abstract: Porous polyaniline (PANI)-coated multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) core/shell nanohybrids were fabricated through in situ polymerization and subsequently assembled into macroscopic composites. N(2) adsorption/desorption analysis indicated that the volume of nanopores increased significantly, which could make a significant contribution to phonon scattering. Thermal annealing was also carried out to improve the Seebeck coefficient of the as-produced nanocomposites. The optimal sample showed electrical conductivity of 14.1 S cm(-1), a Seebeck coefficient of 79.8 μV K(-1) and thermal conductivity of 0.27 W mK(-1), resulting in a highest figure of merit (ZT) of 0.01 at a very low loading of MWNTs (<1 wt%). These results will provide a potential direction to enhance thermoelectric performance of organic materials and also facilitate the application of organic materials in thermal energy harvesting or cooling.
authors.affiliation: Department of Industrial Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA.
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Marauo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: Jingjing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: Louisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hope-Weeks
authors.forename: Shiren
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000814:Aniline Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D004735:Energy Transfer; D008422:Materials Testing; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010316:Particle Size; D016062:Porosity; D013814:Thermal Conductivity
chemical_list: D000814:Aniline Compounds; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; C416807:polyaniline