Spectrale karakterisering en structuur-eigenschaprelatie van PEDOT:PSS voor thermo elektrische toepassingen

Thermoelectrics (TEs) are energy harvesters that convert waste heat into electrical energy and vice versa (they use electricity to provide active heating/cooling). Among the different classes of TE materials, organic TE materials present the advantages of being non-toxic, abundant and mechanically flexible. Therefore, organic thermoelectrics (OTEs) are perfect candidates to power wearable autonomous sensors integrated in smart textiles or even in direct contact with the skin. Such systems can find multiple applications in biomedicine and sports. The use of printing technologies facilitates the manufacture of OTE materials over large areas. In particular, 3D printing is appealing because it allows the production of vertical structures with high aspect ratio and elaborated shapes. However, organic printed thermoelectrics suffer currently from low performances. Their performance depends not only on the material itself, but also on the way its molecules are arranged in the solid phase. The hypothesis of this project is that the re-arrangement of the molecules in a way that they are all oriented in the same direction (uniaxial molecular alignment) will lead to a boost in the thermoelectric performance of the organic material.