Wikipedia
The phonvoltaic (pV) cell converts vibrational ( phonon) energy into a direct current much like the photovoltaic effect in a photovoltaic (PV) cell converts light ( photon) into power. That is, it uses a p-n junction to separate the electrons and holes generated as valence electrons absorb optical phonons more energetic than the band gap, and then collects them in the metallic contacts for use in a circuit. The pV cell is an application of heat transfer physics and competes with other thermal energy harvesting devices like the thermoelectric generator.
While the thermoelectric generator converts heat, a broad spectrum of phonon and electron energy, to electricity, the pV cell converts only a narrow band of phonon energy, i.e., only the most energetic optical phonon modes. A narrow band of excited optical phonons has much less entropy than a similarly excited broad spectrum of phonons. Thus, the pV cell can exceed the thermoelectric efficiency. However, exciting and harvesting the optical phonon poses a challenge.