High Thermoelectric Performance Related to PVDF Ferroelectric Domains in P-Type Flexible PVDF-Bi_0.5Sb_1.5Te₃ Composite Film

There is increasing demand to power Internet of Things devices using ambient energy sources. Flexible, low-temperature, organic/inorganic thermoelectric devices are a breakthrough next-generation approach to meet this challenge. However, these systems suffer from poor performance and expensive processing preventing wide application of the technology. In this study, by combining a ferroelectric polymer (Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF, beta phase)) with p-type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 (BST) a thermoelectric composite film with maximum is produced power factor. Energy filter from ferroelectric-thermoelectric junction also leads to high Seebeck voltage approximate to 242 mu V K-1. For the first time, compelling evidence is provided that the dipole of a ferroelectric material is helping decouple electron transport related to carrier mobility and the Seebeck coefficient, to provide 5x or more improvement in thermoelectric power factor. The best composition, PVDF/BST film with BST 95 wt.% has a power factor of 712 mu W center dot m(-1) K-2. A thermoelectric generator fabricated from a PVDF/BST film demonstrated P-max(T) 12.02 mu W and P-density 40.8 W m(-2) under 50 K temperature difference. This development also provides a new insight into a physical technique, applicable to both flexible and non-flexible thermoelectrics, to obtain comprehensive thermoelectric performance.