Robust PEDOT:PSS Wet-Spun Fibers for Thermoelectric Textiles

Abstract

To realize thermoelectric textiles that can convert body heat to electricity, fibers with excellent mechanical and thermoelectric properties are needed. Although poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is among the most promising organic thermoelectric materials, reports that explore its use for thermoelectric fibers are all but absent. Herein, the mechanical and thermoelectric properties of wet-spun PEDOT:PSS fibers are reported, and their use in energy-harvesting textiles is discussed. Wet-spinning into sulfuric acid results in water-stable semicrystalline fibers with a Young's modulus of up to 1.9 GPa, an electrical conductivity of 830 S cm−1, and a thermoelectric power factor of 30 μV m−1 K−2. Stretching beyond the yield point as well as repeated tensile deformation and bending leave the electrical properties of these fibers almost unaffected. The mechanical robustness/durability and excellent underwater stability of semicrystalline PEDOT:PSS fibers, combined with a promising thermoelectric performance, opens up their use in practical energy-harvesting textiles, as illustrated by an embroidered thermoelectric fabric module. © 2020 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim