高分子热电材料由于具有较低的热导率、质量轻、高韧性、高弹性、资源丰富、成本低等优点，是制备商业化热电转换器件最有前景的材料之一。但是有机热电材料的热电优值普遍较低。因此，如何有效提高这一类材料的热电性能是目前亟待解决的问题。本项目将研究重点聚焦于高分子材料中的自由体积和复合材料的界面，系统地研究热电高分子复合材料的微观结构对宏观热电性能的影响。主要研究内容包括：1）研究高分子材料中自由体积孔洞大小和浓度及尺寸分布对电导率和热导率的影响；2）研究高分子复合材料中无机纳米颗粒与有机物形成的界面微结构；3）通过改变无机纳米颗粒结构及形貌，结合其它改性手段，对有机-无机界面微结构进行有效调控；4）研究界面微结构的变化对复合材料热电性能的影响，寻求提高复合材料热电性能的有效途径。项目研究结果将有助于理解自由体积孔洞以及两相界面与载流子及声子相互作用的机制，为提高热电转换器件的效率提供重要理论指导。

Polymer based organic thermoelectric material has the advantages of low thermal conductivity, light weight, high flexibility and low cost of fabrication, which make it desirable for thermoelectric device applications. However, at present the organic thermoelectric materials have low figure of merit. It has become a very urgent task to effectively improve the thermoelectric properties of the materials. In this project, we will put the research focus on the free volume and the interface between inorganic particles and the polymer matrix. We will systematically study the effect of microstructures on the thermal and electric properties. The main contents include: 1)Study of the effect of free volume hole size, concentration, and size distribution on the electric and thermal conductivity; 2)Characterization of the microstructure of the interface between inorganic particles and the polymer matrix; 3)Adjustment of the interface microstructure through changing the morphology and structure of the inorganic particles and other methods of structure modification; 4)Effect of the change of interface microstructure on the thermoelectric properties of polymer composites, and the possible way to improve the thermoelectric properties. The results of this project will be of help in understanding the interaction of free carriers and lattice phonons with free volume hole and interface, and will also provide important guidance on how to improve the energy conversion efficiency of thermoelectric devices.