Thermoelectric and Mechanical Characterization of Thinfilms of Bi(Se)Te doped with Gold Nanorods

We studied thermoelectric and mechanical properties of polymer: topological insulator films composed of PVDF and Bi₂Se₃ nanoplatelets blended with different concentrations of gold nanorods. The surface morphology of the films using scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy were investigated. Both high and low concentration (10% wt. and 67% wt. Bi₂Te₃) show homogenous distribution of polygonal platelets in pristine samples; however, the small size of the topological insulator nanostructures does not allow for facile conduction between ends of the sample. The addition of small quantities of gold nanorods provided conduction pathways between domains of the Bi₂Te₃ platelets, giving rise to a finite sheet resistance. The apparent usage for these devices is in flexible thermoelectric applications so we used the AFM to investigate the mechanical properties of the films as a function of gold nanorods concentration using a technique called nanoindentation.