Conducting polymers have drawn considerable attention in the field of wearable and implantable thermoelectric devices due to their unique advantages, including availability, flexibility, lightweight, and non-toxicity. To date, researchers have made dramatic breakthroughs in achieving high-performance thermoelectrics; however, the figure of merit ZT of conducting polymers is still far below that of the high-performance thermoelectric Bi₂Te₃-based alloys at room temperature. This challenge lies in the complex interrelation between electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity. In this review, we overview the state-of-the-art on conducting polymers and their thermoelectric devices, starting with the summary of the fundamentals as well as several well-accepted theoretical models. Furthermore, this review examines the key factors determining the charge transport mechanisms in this family of materials and previously reported optimization strategies are discussed and classified. Finally, this review further introduces several favourable device fabrication techniques including illustrating and demonstrating the performance of several typical thermoelectric prototypes, which highlights the bright future of polymer-based flexible thermoelectric devices in wearable and implantable electronics.

导电聚合物由于其独特的优势，包括可用性、灵活性、重量轻和无毒，在可穿戴和可植入热电设备领域引起了相当大的关注。迄今为止，研究人员在实现高性能热电方面取得了巨大突破。然而，导电聚合物的品质因数ZT仍远低于高性能热电 Bi ₂ Te ₃基合金在室温下。这一挑战在于电导率、塞贝克系数和热导率之间复杂的相互关系。在这篇综述中，我们概述了导电聚合物及其热电器件的最新技术，首先概述了基本原理以及几个广为接受的理论模型。此外，本综述检查了决定该材料族中电荷传输机制的关键因素，并对先前报告的优化策略进行了讨论和分类。最后，这篇综述进一步介绍了几种有利的器件制造技术，包括说明和演示几种典型热电原型的性能，