Thermoelectric materials can be used to harness waste energy by converting temperature gradients into useful electricity. Traditional inorganic thermoelectric materials, such as bismuth telluride, are typically mechanically rigid, scarce, expensive, and toxic, which limits their usefulness. The PNC Lab seeks to replace these traditional thermoelectric materials with fully organic polymer-based composites. With power factors now exceeding 2500 µW m-1 K-2, these materials are now very competitive in performance and should be lower cost, lighter weight and safer to use in various devices.
