Recent Developments of n-Type Organic Thermoelectric Materials: Influence of Structure Modification on Molecule Arrangement and Solution Processing.

ABSTRACT

Organic semiconductor (OSCs) thermoelectric materials have been studied widely due to their low thermal conductivity and solution processing characteristics. Currently, the high conductivity (up to 1000 s cm-1 ) has boosted the performance of p-type organic thermoelectric materials substantially. In contrast, the development of n-type organic thermoelectric materials is still limited by their low mobility, inferior air stability, and poor doping efficiency, which is relevant to the molecule structure and dopant dispersion. Herein, the recent development of n-type organic thermoelectric materials was reviewed with an emphasis on molecule structure modification and solution processing. Methods for optimizing conjugate structure were summarized from the effects of conjugated backbone modification and side chains diversification on molecular stacking. The primary n-type dopants were also summarized briefly. Especially, the role of solution aggregation controlling on film preparation and properties was given special attention. Additionally, the emergence of organic diradicals with low lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy level and no doping was introduced, which shows great potential in n-type organic thermoelectric materials. All these endeavors have led to the development of n-type OSCs materials. This Review is aimed at illustrating the state-of-the-art progress and providing some guideline for the design of organic thermoelectric materials in the future.