The effect of graphite oxide on the thermoelectric properties of polyaniline

Graphite oxide (GO)/ordered polyaniline (PANI) composites have been prepared through an in situ polymerization. TEM, XRD, FTIR and XPS analyses show that the PANI grew along the surface of exfoliated GO as a template to form a more ordered structure with high crystallinity during polymerization. Compared with pure PANI, both higher electrical conductivity and higher Seebeck coefficient of GO/PANI composites result from the increased carrier mobility, which is confirmed by Hall measurement. Strong interactions exist between graphene oxide and PANI, including electrostatic forces, hydrogen bonding and π–π stacking. There is no significant difference in thermal conductivity between GO/PANI composites and PANI. The maximum electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient of the composites reach 751 S m−1 and 28.31 μV K−1, respectively. The maximum thermoelectric figure of merit is up to 4.86 × 10−4, 2 orders of magnitude higher than that of pure PANI.