Facile synthesis and thermoelectric properties of aluminum doped zinc oxide/polyaniline (AZO/PANI) hybrid

•Aluminum (Al) doped zinc oxide/polyaniline-AZO/PANI (AZP) hybrids are successfully synthesized by combining sol-gel and in-situ oxidative polymerization method.•The mechanism of charge carrier transport follows a two dimensional variable range hopping mechanism.•Inclusion of AZO on the layers of PANI leading to enhance the room temperature dimensionless figure of merit 0.0035.•The probable interaction of formation of the hybrid of AZO and PANI validates the enhancement of material property.

Now-a-days metal oxide-conducting polymer composites are used as promising candidates for light-weight, low-cost and non-toxic thermoelectric applications. In the present work, aluminum (Al) doped zinc oxide/polyaniline-AZO/PANI (AZP) hybrid are successfully synthesized by combining sol-gel and in-situ oxidative polymerization method. The materials are structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), transmission electron microscopic (TEM) and field emission scanning electron microscopic (FESEM) images. Measurement of thermoelectric properties of AZO/PANI hybrids reveal a simultaneous improvement in electrical conductivity which is attributed to carrier mobility and Seebeck coefficient due to scattering of low-energy carriers via energy-filtering effect. Carrier concentrations have been evaluated from Hall-Effect measurements. The mechanism of charge carrier transport follows a two dimensional variable-range hopping. Inclusion of AZO on the layers of PANI reduces the thermal conductivity to a great extend compared to pure AZO, leading to enhance the room temperature dimensionless figure of merit (ZT = 0.0035). The probable interaction of formation of the hybrid of AZO and PANI validates the enhancement of material property.