Thermoelectric technology, which is characterized by the interconversion between heat and electricity, is demonstrated as an efficient and environmentally friendly route for thermal energy harvesting and solid-state cooling devices. The pursuit for high-performance room temperature thermoelectric materials is of significant interest. Here, we proposed a design strategy to dramatically improve the thermoelectric response by constructing a hierarchical multiscale conductor network (AgNWs/CNT) in polymer matrix (PEDOT:PSS). At the optimized composition, the highest Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity of base treated ternary PEDOT:PSS/AgNWs/CNT composite are optimized to be 58.6 μV K⁻¹ and ∼1950 S cm⁻¹. Correspondingly, the power factor is thus calculated to be on the order of 670 μW m⁻¹ K⁻², which is among one of the highest values compared with previous reports. The underlying mechanism is illustrated based on detailed structure, morphology and electron transport quantification. This work affords a novel strategy for the future development of high-performance room temperature nanocomposite thermoelectrics.

热电技术的特征是热与电之间的相互转换，它被证明是一种热能收集和固态冷却装置的有效且环保的途径。对高性能室温热电材料的追求具有重大意义。在这里，我们提出了一种设计策略，可以通过在聚合物基质（PEDOT：PSS）中构建分层的多尺度导体网络（AgNWs / CNT）来显着改善热电响应。在优化的组成下，经碱处理的三元PEDOT：PSS / AgNWs / CNT复合材料的最高塞贝克系数和电导率被优化为58.6μVK ^-1和〜1950 S cm ^-1。相应地，因此计算出的功率因数约为670μWm ^-1  K ^-2，是与先前报告相比最高的值之一。基于详细的结构，形态和电子传输定量说明了潜在的机理。这项工作为高性能室温纳米复合热电学的未来发展提供了一种新颖的策略。