Enhanced thermoelectric performance of single-walled carbon nanotubes films assembled with aniline tetramer

Although single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) had potential application in self-powered systems for wearable thermoelectric devices due to their light weight, flexibility, and high conductivity, how to improve their thermoelectric properties was still a great challenge. In this study, to improve the thermoelectric properties, aniline tetramer (ANIT) has been assembled on the surface of SWCNTs via π-π interaction to form ANIT/SWCNT films. The thermoelectric properties had been optimized via tuning the microstructure of ANIT/SWCNT. When the SWCNTs were coated by ANIT layer with several nanometer thicknesses, the carrier concentration and carrier mobility was optimized and matched to high thermoelectric properties. Compared to pure SWCNTs, the Seebeck coefficient of ANIT/SWCNT was increased greatly, and the electrical conductivity hardly changed. A maximum power factor of 98.7 μW·m−1·K−2 at 298 K was obtained for the ANIT/SWCNT (10:100), showing a 68% increase compared to pure SWCNTs. Therefore, the doping of ANIT into SWCNT provided a new method for improving the thermoelectric properties of SWCNTs based materials.