Effect of SrTiO₃ Nanoparticles in Conductive Polymer on the Thermoelectric Performance for Efficient Thermoelectrics

We present hybrid organic inorganic materials, namely, SrTiO₃/polyaniline (PANI) composites, with high thermoelectric performance; samples with various SrTiO₃ contents (10, 20, 30, and 50 wt.%) were prepared. The PANI component was obtained through the polymerization of aniline monomers, followed by camphosulfonic acid-doping to enhance its electrical conductivity. SrTiO₃, with a high Seebeck coefficient, was used as the N-type inorganic componenet; it was synthesized via a one-pot solvothermal methods and, then, dispersed into the conductive PANI matrix. The SrTiO₃ content influenced the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity of the resulting composites. The variations in the thermoelectric properties of the SrTiO₃/PANI composites consequently changed their power factor; at room temperature, the highest value was ~49.6 μW·m/K², which is 17 times larger than that of pure PANI.