2. Conductive properties of polymers

Despite their low thermal conductivity polymeric thermoelectric materials have an electrical conductivity of between 10 ^–8 and 10 ⁴ S · cm ^–1 , and their Seebeck coefficient can vary from 10 to 10 ³ μV · K ^–1 . As with inorganic materials, the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient of the same polymer are highly correlated, and an increase in electrical conductivity is generally accompanied by a decrease in the Seebeck coefficient. This can be explained by the position of the Fermi level in the energy band: at high levels of doping, the Fermi level is shifted towards the conduction band, thus reducing the energy associated with charge carrier transport and...