Polymer electrolyte liquid crystal mixtures as phase-dependent thermoelectric materials

Said, SM and Sahamir, SR and Sabri, MFM and Kamarudin, MA and Hayashi, K and Zulkifli, AZS and Nakajo, T and Kubouchi, M and Miyazaki, Y (2017) Polymer electrolyte liquid crystal mixtures as phase-dependent thermoelectric materials. Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals, 642. pp. 9-17. ISSN 1542-1406

Abstract

Organic thermoelectric materials have gained a trajectory in recent years given its advantages of processability, low cost and flexibility. In this paper, polymer electrolyte liquid crystal (PELC) mixtures composed of polyvinyl alcohol, potassium iodide, and 4-Cyano-4'-pentylbiphenyl (5CB) liquid crystal are fabricated, the 5CB acts as a ‘temperature switch’, i.e., a strong correlation between the thermoelectric properties and the transition from Ne-Iso transition of the 5CB, is observed. The electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient of the PELC mixtures both decrease above the Ne-Iso transition temperature. This thermoelectric behavior is discussed in terms of the carrier concentration, carrier mobility, and order-disorder transition.