Self-Assembled Three-Dimensional BiTe Nanowire-PEDOT:PSS Hybrid Nanofilm Network for Ubiquitous Thermoelectrics.

Thermoelectric generation capable of delivering reliable performance in the low-temperature range (<150 °C) for large-scale deployment has been a challenge mainly due to limited properties of thermoelectric materials. However, realizing interdependence of topological insulators and thermoelectricity, a new research dimension on tailoring and using the topological-insulator boundary states for thermoelectric enhancement has emerged. Here, we demonstrate a promising hybrid nanowire of topological bismuth telluride (BiTe) within the conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrenesulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) matrix using the in situ one-pot synthesis to be incorporated into a three-dimensional network of self-assembled hybrid thermoelectric nanofilms for the scalable thermoelectric application.