Enhancing Thermoelectric Power Factor of PEDOT:PSS/SnSe₂ Nanocomposite Sheets by Rapid Thermal Annealing

Organic/inorganic nanocomposite sheets of poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly (styrenesul-fonate) (PEDOT:PSS) + SnSe₂ were synthesized by a wet chemical method followed by rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at 220°C for 1 h. The ratio of PEDOT:PSS to SnSe₂ was varied by increasing incorporation of SnSe₂ powder as 0.0 g, 0.1 g, 0.2 g, and 0.3 g in the same volume of polymer solution (3 mL). It was found that the as-prepared PEDOT:PSS + SnSe₂ nanocomposite sheets were amorphous, and that the roughness of the sheets increased with increasing amounts of SnSe₂ powder. All the nanocomposite sheets showed p-type thermoelectric behavior. After the RTA process, the nanocomposite sheets exhibited an increased thermoelectric power factor of 37.4 µW m⁻¹ K⁻² compared to 0.44 µW m⁻¹ K⁻² before RTA for the same filling factor of the SnSe₂ reinforcement.