In the current study, polymer-based composites, consisting of Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) and Bismuth Antimony Telluride (BixSb2-xTe3), were produced using mechanical mixing and hot pressing. These composites were investigated regarding their electrical resistivity and Seebeck coefficient, with respect to Bi doping and BixSb2-xTe3 loading into the composite. Experimental results showed that their thermoelectric performance is comparable-or even superior, in some cases-to reported thermoelectric polymer composites that have been produced using other complex techniques. Consequently, mechanically mixed polymer-based thermoelectric materials could be an efficient method for low-cost and large-scale production of polymer composites for potential thermoelectric applications.
Keywords: Bismuth Antimony Telluride; Seebeck coefficient; polymer-thermoelectric material blends; polymeric nanocomposites; thermoelectric materials.