Temperature Dependence of a Perovskite-Sensitized Solar Cell: A Sensitized “Thermal” Cell

Efficient and low-cost thermal energy-harvesting systems are needed to solve the global energy problem. Here, we suggest a new energy conversion system for generating electric power from heat without a cooling element. This device is a sensitized thermal cell (STC) based on a dye-sensitized solar cell. A semiconductor is used instead of the dye, and as a result, this system can work by using heat instead of light. To prove the efficacy of this system, we focused on an organic perovskite. This material has been used in a sensitized solar cell, and recent calculations show that it can generate several thermally excited charges at temperatures over 60 °C. Thus, if this perovskite cell can generate electric power with both light irradiation and thermal excitation, the STC concept would be perfectly proven, and the device succeeds thanks to the careful analysis of the perovskite’s unstableness. This is the dawn of the three-dimensional utilization of heat.