Printable Thermoelectric Device

We have fabricated a printed flexible thermoelectric generator using composite of Bi2Te3 and PEDOT:PSS. The nano-structured thermoelectric thin film was made by printing method and the paste for printing was prepared by mixing nano-particles of Bi2Te3, PEDOT:PSS and polyamic acid as a additives. The non-dimensional figure of merit was 0.2 for p-type composite thin film at room temperature due to the low thermal conductivity. The interfacial thermal resistance between Bi2Te3 and PEDOT:PSS was measured to understand the low effective thermal conductivity of the printed thermoelectric composite. The measured organic-inorganic interfacial thermal resistance is in the order of 10−7 (m2K)/W which is about 10 times higher than the inorganic-inorganic interfacial thermal resistance. The extremely low thermal conductivity of the printed thermoelectric materials can be explained by high interfacial resistance between inorganic-organic materials.