Synergistic cooperation between photovoltaic and thermoelectric effects in solar cells

Efficient utilization of thermal energy generated from infrared light has long been a focal point in the development of high-efficiency photovoltaic (PV) devices. Theoretically, the thermal energy can be converted to electricity through the thermoelectric (TE) effect. However, integrating PV and TE effects in a PV device for solar-to-electricity conversion has remained largely unexplored. Herein, we investigated the concurrent utilization of PV and TE effects under a temperature gradient (ΔT) across perovskite solar cells (PSCs). A record power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 27.17% (26.87%, average) was achieved for FAPbI₃-based PSCs at ΔT = 10 °C, compared to the control cases with a PCE of 25.65% (25.28%, average). The exemplary PCE is attributed to full spectrum utilization of solar energy and directional regulation of charge carrier transport induced by built-in temperature gradients, which facilitates their efficient collection. Our findings reveal the TE effect in the PV process and demonstrate the synergistic cooperation between PV and TE effects for enhancing the performance of PSCs.