Thermoelectric Properties of a Semicrystalline Polymer Doped Beyond the Insulator-to-metal Transition by Electrolyte Gating

Conducting polymer thin films containing inherent structural disorder exhibit complicated electronic, transport, and thermoelectric properties. The unconventional power-law relation between the Seebeck coefficient () and the electrical conductivity (σ) is one of the typical consequences of this disorder, where no maximum of the thermoelectric power factor ( = σ) has been observed upon doping, unlike conventional systems. Here, it is demonstrated that a thiophene-based semicrystalline polymer exhibits a clear maximum of through wide-range carrier doping by the electrolyte gating technique. The maximum value appears around the macroscopic insulator-to-metal transition upon doping, which is firmly confirmed by the temperature dependence of σ and magnetoresistance measurements. The effect of disorder on charge transport is suppressed in the metallic state, resulting in the conventional -σ relation described by the Mott equation. The present results provide a physical background for controlling the performance of conducting polymers toward the application to thermoelectric devices.