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Article

Sustainable Thermoelectric Composites: A Study of Bi2Te3-Filled Biobased Resin

by
Luca Ferretti
1,
Pietro Russo
2,
Jessica Passaro
2,
Francesca Nanni
1,
Saverio D’Ascoli
3,
Francesco Fabbrocino
3 and
Mario Bragaglia
1,*
1
Department of Enterprise Engineering “Mario Lucertini”, University of Rome “Tor Vergata” and INSTM RU Roma-Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
2
Institute for Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials, National Council of Research, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy
3
Department of Engineering, Pegaso Telematic University, 80143 Naples, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Materials 2025, 18(15), 3453; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18153453
Submission received: 13 June 2025 / Revised: 19 July 2025 / Accepted: 21 July 2025 / Published: 23 July 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Composites: Microstructural, Thermal and Mechanical Properties (Third Edition))
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Highlights

  1. Sustainable bio-based thermoelectric composites have been developed for 3D printing.
  2. High filler loading hinders UV-curing; DLP printing remains challenging.
  3. Thermal curing with DCP enables effective Bi2Te3 dispersion and crosslinking.
  4. A Seebeck coefficient of up to 51 µV/K shows promise for energy harvesting.
  5. The matrix degrades in basic media, allowing for the recovery and reuse of Bi2Te3 filler.

Abstract

In this work, bio-based thermoelectric composites were developed using acrylated epoxidized soybean oil (AESO) as the polymer matrix and bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) as the thermoelectric filler. The materials were formulated for both UV-curing and thermal-curing processes, with a focus on Digital Light Processing (DLP) 3D printing. Although UV curing proved ineffective at high filler concentrations due to the light opacity of Bi2Te3, thermal curing enabled the fabrication of stable, homogeneously dispersed composites. The samples were thoroughly characterized through rheology, FTIR, TGA, XRD, SEM, and density measurements. Thermoelectric performance was assessed under a 70 °C temperature gradient, with Seebeck coefficients reaching up to 51 µV/K. Accelerated chemical degradation studies in basic media confirmed the degradability of the matrix. The results demonstrate the feasibility of combining additive manufacturing with sustainable materials for low-power thermoelectric energy harvesting applications.
Keywords: thermoelectric; bio-composites; 3D printing; energy harvesting thermoelectric; bio-composites; 3D printing; energy harvesting

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MDPI and ACS Style

Ferretti, L.; Russo, P.; Passaro, J.; Nanni, F.; D’Ascoli, S.; Fabbrocino, F.; Bragaglia, M. Sustainable Thermoelectric Composites: A Study of Bi2Te3-Filled Biobased Resin. Materials 2025, 18, 3453. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18153453

AMA Style

Ferretti L, Russo P, Passaro J, Nanni F, D’Ascoli S, Fabbrocino F, Bragaglia M. Sustainable Thermoelectric Composites: A Study of Bi2Te3-Filled Biobased Resin. Materials. 2025; 18(15):3453. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18153453

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ferretti, Luca, Pietro Russo, Jessica Passaro, Francesca Nanni, Saverio D’Ascoli, Francesco Fabbrocino, and Mario Bragaglia. 2025. "Sustainable Thermoelectric Composites: A Study of Bi2Te3-Filled Biobased Resin" Materials 18, no. 15: 3453. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18153453

APA Style

Ferretti, L., Russo, P., Passaro, J., Nanni, F., D’Ascoli, S., Fabbrocino, F., & Bragaglia, M. (2025). Sustainable Thermoelectric Composites: A Study of Bi2Te3-Filled Biobased Resin. Materials, 18(15), 3453. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18153453

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