Thermoelectric materials are very effective in converting waste heat sources into useful electricity. Researchers are continuing to develop new polymeric thermoelectric materials. The segregated-network carbon nanotube (CNT)- polymer composites are most promising. Thus, the goal of this study is to develop novel porous CNT -polymer composites with improved thermoelectric properties. The research efforts focused on modifying the surface of the CNT with magnetic nanoparticles so that heat was released when subjecting to an AC magnetic field. Subsequently, polymers covered on the surface of the CNT were crosslinked. The porous CNT -polymer composites can be obtained by removing the un-crosslinked polymers. Polydimethylsiloxane polymer was utilized to investigate the effect of porosity and electrical conductivity on the thermoelectric properties of the composites. This AC magnetic field-assisted method to develop porous carbon nanotube/polymer composites for application in thermoelectric materials is introduced for the first time. The advantage of this method is that the electrical conductivity of the composites was high since we can easily to manipulate the CNT to form a conducting path. Another advantage is that the high porosity significantly reduced the thermal conductivity of the composites. These two advantages enable us to realize the polymer composites for thermoelectric applications. We are confident that this research will open a new avenue for developing polymer thermoelectric materials.

Date Published: 3 April 2015
PDF: 5 pages
Proc. SPIE 9434, Nanosensors, Biosensors, and Info-Tech Sensors and Systems 2015, 94340O (3 April 2015); doi: 10.1117/12.2084085

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9434:
Nanosensors, Biosensors, and Info-Tech Sensors and Systems 2015
Vijay K. Varadan, Editor(s)