Recent advances in CNT/graphene based thermoelectric polymer nanocomposite: A proficient move towards waste energy harvesting

Carbon nano tube (CNT)/graphene filled organic composites have great potential for making cheaper thermoelectric materials towards their gear up for applications in energy harvesting due to their low cost, low density, facile routes of preparations, versatile processability and low thermal conductivity. These properties make them superior compared to previously reported hybrid alloys. Now a day׳s CNT and graphene are most frequently used nanofillers due to their unique shape and characteristics such as superconductivity, light weight, high stiffness and axial strength. Moreover, to achieve superior dispersion and properties of composites, various functionalizations on the graphene and CNT have been accomplished by various research groups. Foremost objective of this paper is to highlight the recent research advances on CNT and graphene filled thermoelectric (TE) materials for the replacement of inorganic semiconductors. Fundamentally, for polymer composite based thermoplastic (TP) materials, a thermally nonconductive but electrically connected nano-structured network should be established.