Thermoelectric behaviour of segregated conductive polymer composites with hybrid fillers of carbon nanotube and bismuth telluride

A segregated polymer composite based on ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), carbon nanotube (CNT) and p type bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) was fabricated. Morphology observation confirmed the formation of a typical segregated conductive network of CNT/Bi2Te3 hybrids, in which the CNTs/Bi2Te3 hybrid fillers were only located at the interfaces of UHMWPE domains to form continuous conducting pathways. The segregated composite containing 2.6 vol% CNTs and 5.1 vol% Bi2Te3 exhibited an electrical conductivity of 45 S/m, thermal conductivity of 0.43 W/mK, Seebeck coefficient of 29 mu V/K, and thermoelectric figure of merit ZT=3 x 10(-5) at room temperature. This work implies that the formation of a segregated structure. in polymer composites demonstrates a new strategy to develop polymer-based thermoelectric materials. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.