Repurposing halide perovskites for coupled photovoltaic and thermoelectric energy conversion

This work explores a new way to generate energy by using degraded perovskite solar cells as hybrid photo-thermoelectric devices. Perovskite is chosen for its high electrical conductivity, good light absorption and low thermal conductivity. The device uses a perovskite layer with optimized electron and hole transport layers to improve charge flow and minimize heat loss. Transparent (FTO) and gold electrodes are designed to increase efficiency. The device is tested under a temperature gradient created between a water-cooled stage and a filament lamp. Results show a proof-of-concept figure of merit (ZT) of 0.126 at 356 K, demonstrating that even degraded perovskite cells can produce usable energy. This work demonstrates the reuse of degraded perovskite solar cells as hybrid photo-thermoelectric generators, offering a sustainable second life for PV materials. This approach offers a low-cost, scalable method to generate micro-power and could be applied in educational and experimental micro-power platforms.