The power factor of the as-prepared composite thin film outperforms that of either Te or DMSO-treated PEDOT:PSS thin film, and importantly, it can be further enhanced to 149 μW m -1 K -2 by hot pressing, which is nearly threefold enhancement compared to the values reported for the vacuum-filtrated flexible Te/PEDOT:PSS thin films in the literature.

Based on the synthesized Te nanostructures, flexible p-type Te/PEDOT:PSS thin films were fabricated through a simple dilution and vacuum filtration method. Individual Te nanostructures achieve a thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) of 0.13 at 300 K, indicating good potential as inorganic fillers for nanostructures/polymer hybrid materials.

Te nanostructures with high crystallinity and high aspect ratios were synthesized through an environmentally friendly method without using highly toxic chemicals. In this work, we report on flexible Te-nanostructures/PEDOT:PSS composite thin films with high power factor and their application as flexible temperature sensors. Flexible, lightweight, and low-cost thermoelectric thin films are promising for self-powered wearable electronics and sensors.

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