Thermoelectric power factor for electrically conductive polymers

In conventional semiconductors, increasing the doping will reduce the Seebeck coefficient, and there is an optimum doping concentration for thermoelectric cooling or power generation applications. An overview of the experimental results for the power factor (electrical conductivity times the square of Seebeck coefficient) for various electrically conductive polymers is presented. Even though the Seebeck coefficient decreases with doping, the power factor keeps increasing. Various mechanisms of electron transport in polymers are described and the doping dependence of the power factor is analyzed.