Construct Schottky interface containing energy-filtering effect: An efficient strategy to decouple thermopower and conductivity.

Organic/inorganic thermoelectric hybrids demonstrate great potential for wearable applications. However, their scalability is hindered by an inferior power factor (S 2 σ). Nowadays, achieving deep optimization of S 2 σ necessitates a strategy to decouple the Seebeck coefficient (S) and electrical conductivity (σ). In this work, we propose a strategy to break the coupling between S and σ by constructing a Schottky interface that exhibits an energy-filtering effect. We validate the feasibility of this approach using a PANI/TiN–TiO₂/carbon paper. The results demonstrate a 1.16-fold increase in σ and a 1.08-fold increase in S in PANI/TiN–TiO₂/carbon paper achieved through the construction of a Schottky-type TiN/TiO₂ interface. The separation of hole/electron at the TiN/TiO₂ interface serves as the scattering center for ionized impurity scattering and facilitates the transport pathway for charge carriers. These factors are crucial in determining the simultaneous optimization of S and σ , respectively. Additionally, the energy-filtering effect of the TiN/TiO₂ interface plays a positive role in the ionized impurity scattering mechanism by selectively filtering out low-energy carriers. This further strengthens decoupling of the thermoelectric properties. The 14.9% PANI/11.2% TiN–14.5% TiO₂/59.44% carbon paper displays the highest S 2 σ and achieves a high ZT value of 223.6 μVm⁻¹ K⁻² and 0.31 at 300 K, highlighting the advantages of PANI-based thermoelectric hybrids. This work provides valuable guidance for the design of thermoelectric hybrids incorporating multi-interface morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]