Popular strategies for constructing polymer gel thermoelectric materials

Polymeric thermoelectric materials utilizing the Soret effect have the advantages of high Seebeck coefficient, non-toxicity, light weight, and excellent mechanical properties that make them shine in the field of thermoelectrics. However, ionic thermoelectric systems based on polymer gels are still in their infancy and research is relatively limited, and there is an increasing interest in how to prepare high performance polymer thermoelectric materials. In this paper, we review some of the existing polymer TE materials based on the Soret effect and discuss the different approaches to achieve high Seebeck coefficient and enhanced thermoelectric properties from the perspective of material design strategies. Moreover, we highlight the popular strategies of the construction of thermoelectric materials and provide a brief outlook on the development of the polymer thermoelectric field for its future research. image