Polyaniline (PANI) is a potential candidate for n‐type thermoelectric (TE) materials owing to its intrinsic electrical conductivity, low thermal conductivity, and facile synthesis techniques. However, its low Seebeck coefficient and power factor have limited its widespread usage. In this study, nitrogen‐doped, and sulfur‐nitrogen co‐doped reduced graphene oxide (rGO) were used for tuning the TE properties of PANI. Doped rGO and PANI/doped‐rGO nanocomposites were prepared via hydrothermal technique and chemical oxidative polymerization respectively and thereafter characterized. The TE properties of the nanocomposites were also studied and an optimized Seebeck coefficient, power factor and zT value of −1.75 mV K−1, 95 μW m−1 K−2 and 0.06, respectively were reported for the PANI nanocomposite containing 1 wt% sulfur‐nitrogen co‐doped rGO. These results suggest that PANI/heteroatom‐doped rGO can serve as promising candidates for n‐type based TE applications.
Responsive micropatterned surfaces are fabricated using a facile, one-step method that allows for the separate control of topography and surface chemistry. Temperature responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAAm), and amphiphilic poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-perfluorodecylacrylate) (p(HEMA-co-PFA)) polymer thin films are deposited on prestrained polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates using the initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) technique. Subsequent release of the strain results in the formation of periodic wrinkle structures on the surface of polymer thin films. The iCVD technique allows control of the chemical composition while preserving the functional groups of the polymers intact. Surface topography is controlled separately by tuning elastic modulus of the polymer coatings and substrates. Highly ordered, well-defined wrinkle structures are obtained on pNIPAAm surfaces whereas wrinkles on the amphiphilic surfaces are less ordered due to the difference in elastic moduli of the polymers. Furthermore, process temperature is observed to have detrimental effects on the ordering of the wrinkles.
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