Power generation through the thermoelectric (TE) effect in small-sized devices requires a submillimeter-thick film that is beneficial to effectively maintain ΔT compared with a micron-scale thin film. However, most TE thick films, which are fabricated using printing technologies, suffer from low electrical conductivity due to the porous structures formed after sintering of the organic binder-mixed TE ink. In this study, we report an n-type TE thick film fabricated through bar-coating of the edge-oxidized-graphene (EOG)-dispersed Bi_2.0Te_2.7Se_0.3 (BTS) paste with copper dopants. We have found that EOG provides the conducting pathway for carriers through electrical bridging between the separated BTS grains in porous TE thick films. The simultaneous enhancement in electrical conductivity and the Seebeck coefficient of the EOG-bridged TE film result in a maximum power factor of 1.54 mW·m^–1·K^–2 with the addition of 0.01 wt % EOG. Furthermore, the single element made of an n-type EOG-bridged BTS exhibits a superior output power of 1.65 μW at ΔT = 80 K. These values are 5 times higher than those of bare BTS films. Our results clearly indicate that the utilization of EOG with a metal dopant exerts a synergistic effect for enhancing the electrical output performance of n-type TE thick films for thermal energy harvesters.

中文翻译：

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边缘氧化的石墨烯桥连的N型碲化铋厚膜的协同改进的热电能量收集

在小型设备中，通过热电（TE）效应发电需要亚毫米厚的薄膜，与微米级薄膜相比，该薄膜有利于有效地保持ΔT。然而，由于在混合了有机粘合剂的TE油墨的烧结之后形成的多孔结构，使用印刷技术制造的大多数TE厚膜都具有低电导率。在这项研究中，我们报告了通过对边缘氧化石墨烯（EOG）分散的Bi _2.0 Te _2.7 Se _0.3进行棒涂制备的n型TE厚膜（BTS）掺有铜掺杂剂。我们发现，EOG通过多孔TE厚膜中分离的BTS晶粒之间的电桥为载流子提供了导电路径。EOG桥接的TE膜的电导率和塞贝克系数的同时提高导致在添加0.01 wt％EOG的情况下最大功率因数为1.54 mW·m ^–1 ·K ^–2。此外，由n型EOG桥接的BTS制成的单个元件在ΔT处表现出1.65μW的出色输出功率= 80K。这些值是裸BTS胶片的5倍。我们的结果清楚地表明，将EOG与金属掺杂剂一起使用可发挥协同作用，以增强用于热能收集器的n型TE厚膜的电输出性能。