Thermoelectric properties of flexible composite fabrics prepared by a gas polymerization combining solution coating process

•Flexible PEDOT:PSS/PEDOT/fabric composites were prepared by a gas polymerization combining solution coating process.•Thermoelectric properties of the composite fabrics are significantly improved after the PEDOT:PSS coating treatment.•The power factors of all the composite fabrics are insensitive to the temperature increasing from 300 to 360 K.•A highest power factor of 0.5 μWm−1 K−2 is achieved for the PEDOT:PSS/PEDOT/wool composite at 360 K. Several flexible thermoelectric composite fabrics, including poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)/PEDOT/cotton, PEDOT:PSS/PEDOT/silk, and PEDOT:PSS/PEDOT/wool have been prepared by a gas polymerization combining solution coating process, and their thermoelectric properties have been measured from 300 to 360 K. The results show that both electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient of PEDOT/cotton, PEDOT/silk, and PEDOT/wool composite fabrics are significantly improved after the PEDOT:PSS coating treatment, leading to significant enhancement of power factors of the composite fabrics. In addition, both electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient of all the composite fabrics are insensitive to the temperature increasing from 300 to 360 K. A highest power factor of 0.5 μWm−1 K-2 has been achieved for the PEDOT:PSS/PEDOT/wool composite at 360 K. This work provides an effective method to endow fabrics with thermoelectric properties.