Perovskite solar cells promise cheap, lightweight panels that can squeeze more power from sunlight than today’s standard silicon. The catch has always been the same: they fall apart too quickly when real sunlight and oxygen get involved.
A new study from a Korean team suggests an unlikely helper. A tiny molecule called taurine, widely found in octopus and squid, can act like a chemical shield inside these fragile solar cells and slow the damage that usually destroys them long before your electric bill feels a difference.
Why perovskite solar cells needed help
Perovskite is a family of crystals that can turn sunlight into electricity very efficiently while using thin coatings instead of thick, heavy wafers.
That makes perovskite solar cells attractive for everything from rooftop panels to flexible films that could cover walls or windows. Scientists have already pushed their lab efficiencies into the same league as the best silicon devices.
The weak spot is durability. When strong light hits perovskite, it shakes loose very energetic electrons that react with tiny pockets of oxygen trapped during manufacturing. Those reactions create aggressive oxygen-based radicals that chew through the crystal structure, so the cell loses performance in days or weeks instead of years.
What taurine from sea animals does inside a solar cell
Taurine is an amino acid that helps protect cells in many animals from oxidative stress. It is abundant in the tissues of octopus and squid and it also shows up on the ingredient lists of many energy drinks people buy at the supermarket. The research team wondered whether that same antioxidant power could be used to protect a solar material instead of living tissue.
In the new work, scientists at Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology and Korea Institute of Science and Technology placed an ultrathin layer of taurine at the hidden boundary where a tin dioxide layer meets the perovskite absorber.
That is exactly where oxygen-driven damage usually starts. Lead author Seongmin Choi and colleagues report that taurine behaves like a natural chemical shield, grabbing reactive oxygen species before they can attack the perovskite and then regenerating so the protection continues as the device runs.
The payoff shows up in the stress tests. Treated cells kept roughly 97% of their starting efficiency after about 450 hours of intense light and heat in the lab, while untreated devices faded much more quickly under the same conditions.
In long-running tests in air under constant simulated sunlight, taurine-protected cells still delivered about 80% of their original output after around 130 hours, compared with roughly one day before control cells slipped past the same loss point.
What this could mean for future clean energy
If perovskite solar cells can last longer outdoors, they could be paired with silicon in tandem panels or even replace it in some uses. That might lead to lighter modules that are easier to install on rooftops and building facades and could eventually help lower the cost of clean electricity for households that already worry about every spike in their monthly bill.
Researchers stress that stability is as important as raw efficiency if these materials are ever going to cover real roofs instead of just lab benches.
The taurine approach is part of a broader trend. Other teams have explored antioxidant inspired molecules to make perovskites more resistant to sunlight, including a 2023 study that mimicked natural antioxidant systems in wide band gap perovskite cells and found similar gains in photostability.
Together, these lines of research suggest that copying the way living organisms handle reactive oxygen could be a powerful design guide for next-generation solar materials.
In the end, a molecule that helps sea creatures cope with oxidative stress might also help solar panels survive years of bright, punishing sunlight. The next time you see octopus on a menu or notice taurine on a drink label, it might be worth remembering that the same chemistry could one day help power your home more cleanly.
The main study has been published in Advanced Energy Materials.
