Low-Cost and Sustainable Organic Thermoelectrics Based on Low-Dimensional Molecular Metals

Florian Huewe; Alexander Steeger; Kalina Kostova; Laurence Burroughs; Irene Bauer; Peter Strohriegl; Vladimir Dimitrov; Simon Woodward; Jens Pflaum

doi:10.1002/adma.201605682

Low-Cost and Sustainable Organic Thermoelectrics Based on Low-Dimensional Molecular Metals

Adv Mater. 2017 Apr;29(13). doi: 10.1002/adma.201605682. Epub 2017 Feb 13.

Authors

Florian Huewe¹, Alexander Steeger¹, Kalina Kostova², Laurence Burroughs³, Irene Bauer⁴, Peter Strohriegl⁵, Vladimir Dimitrov², Simon Woodward³, Jens Pflaum¹

Affiliations

¹ Experimental Physics VI, Julius-Maximilian University of Würzburg, and Bavarian Center for Applied Energy Research (ZAE Bayern e.V.), 97074, Würzburg, Germany.
² Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, 1113, Bulgaria.
³ GSK Carbon Neutral Laboratory for Sustainable Chemistry, University of Nottingham, Jubilee Campus, Nottingham, NG7 2GG, UK.
⁴ Experimental Physics II, University of Bayreuth, 95440, Bayreuth, Germany.
⁵ Macromolecular Chemistry I, University of Bayreuth, 95440, Bayreuth, Germany.

PMID: 28195424
DOI: 10.1002/adma.201605682

Abstract

Thermoelectric generator composed of crystalline radical ion salts: The unipolar charge transport along the molecular stacks facilitates complementary p- and n-type organic thermoelectric materials of high electrical conductivity and of 1D electronic structure. The specific power output of 5 mW cm^-2 and the zT > 0.15 below 40 K demonstrate a new field of low-temperature thermoelectric applications unlocked by organic metals.

Keywords: Seebeck coefficient; molecular metals; organic thermoelectric materials; radical ion salts; thermal conductivity.