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Shen et al. Soft Sci 2023;3:20 Soft Science
DOI: 10.20517/ss.2023.10

Research Article Open Access

A lamellar-ordered poly[bi(3,4-

ethylenedioxythiophene)-alt-thienyl] for efficient
tuning of thermopower without degenerated

conductivity

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1,3
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Lanlan Shen , Mengting Liu , Peipei Liu , Jingkun Xu 1,2,* , Na Li , Zhiliang Wan , Zhihong Chen , Congcong
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3
2,*
Liu , Weiqiang Zhou , Yuzhang Liang , Fengxing Jiang 2,*
1
Department of Physics, Jiangxi Science & Technology Normal University, Nanchang 330013, Jiangxi, China.
2
Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics, Jiangxi Science & Technology Normal University, Nanchang 330013, Jiangxi,
China.
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College of Physis, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, Liaoning, China.
* Correspondence to: Profs. Fengxing Jiang, Jingkun Xu, Congcong Liu, Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics, Jiangxi Science &
Technology Normal University, 605 Fenglin Avenue, Economic and Technological Development Zone, Qingshanhu District,
Nanchang 330013, Jiangxi, China. E-mail: f.x.jiang@live.cn; xujingkun@tsinghua.org.cn; lcc.0705@163.com
How to cite this article: Shen L, Liu M, Liu P, Xu J, Li N, Wan Z, Chen Z, Liu C, Zhou W, Liang Y, Jiang F. A lamellar-ordered
poly[bi(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-alt-thienyl] for efficient tuning of thermopower without degenerated conductivity. Soft Sci
2023;3:20. https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/ss.2023.10
Received: 27 Feb 2023 First Decision: 17 Mar 2023 Revised: 4 May 2023 Accepted: 18 May 2023 Published: 19 Jun 2023
Academic Editor: Zhi-Gang Chen Copy Editor: Lin He Production Editor: DongLi-Li
Abstract
Modulating the structural order of conjugated polymers has emerged as a significant approach to enhance the
organic thermoelectric performance. Among these materials, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) is considered a
promising candidate due to its high conductivity. However, its low thermopower remains a major obstacle to
further improve its performance as an organic thermoelectric material. To address this issue, a series of thiophene
derivatives with high rigidity and containing dioxyethylene groups were synthesized, and polymer films were
prepared through a simple and mild in-situ polymerization method. The polymer molecule containing a thiophene
block, named poly[bi(3,4-ethylenedioxy)-alt-thienyl] , exhibits significant self-rigidification due to non-covalent
interactions between oxygen and sulfur atoms, resulting in highly ordered assembly. By adding thiophene and
thieno[3,2-b]thiophene structures to the intermediate precursor bi(3,4-ethylenedioxy), the 3,4-ethylenedioxy
content in the polymer molecule is altered, leading to an almost four-fold increase in the thermopower of the thin
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film polymer and achieving a maximum thermopower of around 26 μV·K . Although poly[bi(3,4-ethylenedioxy)-
alt-thienyl] shows a significant increase in thermopower compared to poly[bi(3,4-ethylenedioxy)], the thin film

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