Advances in materials and devices for smartlife photovoltaic innovations

Abstract

The rapid development of photovoltaic (PV) technologies is expanding their applications beyond conventional outdoor energy harvesting into innovative smart-life energy solutions. This review examines the most recent progress in materials and device designs for various emerging PV systems, particularly in indoor and low-light environments, semitransparent devices, and flexible, wearable applications. These advancements have great potential to support autonomous smart life, enhance the energy efficiency of building-integrated solutions, and improve wearable technologies. Despite these gains, challenges such as improving efficiency, durability, scalability, and affordability remain, requiring interdisciplinary collaboration and further research to fully unlock PV technologies' role in sustainable, energy-efficient smart life.