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Due to a rise in industrial pollutants in modern life, the climate and energy crisis have grown more widespread. One of the best ways to deal with dye degradation, hydrogen production, and carbon dioxide reduction issues is the photocatalytic technique. Among various methods, catalytic technology has demonstrated tremendous promise in recent years as a cheap, sustainable, and environmentally benign technology. The expeditious establishment of carbon-based metal nanoparticles as catalysts in the disciplines of materials and chemical engineering for catalytic applications triggered by visible light is largely attributed to their advancement. There have been many wonderful catalysts created, but there are still many obstacles to overcome, which include the cost of catalysts being reduced and their effectiveness being increased. Carbon-based materials exhibit a unique combination of characteristics that make them ideal catalysts for various reaction types. These characteristics include an exceptional electrical conductivity, well-defined structures at the nanoscale, inherent water repellency, and the ability to tailor surface properties for specific applications. This versatility allows them to be effective in diverse catalytic processes, encompassing organic transformations and photocatalysis. The emergence of carbon-based nanostructured materials, including fullerenes, carbon dots, carbon nanotubes, graphitic carbon nitride, and graphene, presents a promising alternative to conventional catalysts. This review focuses on the diverse functionalities of these materials within the realm of catalysis materials for degradation, hydrogen production, and carbon dioxide reduction. Additionally, it explores the potential for their commercialization, delving into the underlying mechanisms and key factors that influence their performance. It is anticipated that this review will spur more research to develop high-performance carbon-based materials for environmental applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perovskite solar cells typically comprise electron- and hole-transport materials deposited on each side of a perovskite active layer. So far, only two organic hole-transport materials have led to state-of-the-art performance in these solar cells.sup.1: poly(triarylamine) (PTAA).sup.2-5 and 2,2E,7,7E-tetrakis(N,N-di-p-methoxyphenylamine)-9,9E-spirobifluorene (spiro-OMeTAD).sup.6,7. However, these materials have several drawbacks in terms of commercialization, including high cost.sup.8, the need for hygroscopic dopants that trigger degradation of the perovskite layer.sup.9 and limitations in their deposition processes.sup.10. Poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) is an alternative hole-transport material with excellent optoelectronic properties.sup.11-13, low cost.sup.8,14 and ease of fabrication.sup.15-18, but so far the efficiencies of perovskite solar cells using P3HT have reached only around 16 per cent.sup.19. Here we propose a device architecture for highly efficient perovskite solar cells that use P3HT as a hole-transport material without any dopants. A thin layer of wide-bandgap halide perovskite is formed on top of the narrow-bandgap light-absorbing layer by an in situ reaction of n-hexyl trimethyl ammonium bromide on the perovskite surface. Our device has a certified power conversion efficiency of 22.7 per cent with hysteresis of [plus or minus]0.51 per cent; exhibits good stability at 85 per cent relative humidity without encapsulation; and upon encapsulation demonstrates long-term operational stability for 1,370 hours under 1-Sun illumination at room temperature, maintaining 95 per cent of the initial efficiency. We extend our platform to large-area modules (24.97 square centimetres)--which are fabricated using a scalable bar-coating method for the deposition of P3HT--and achieve a power conversion efficiency of 16.0 per cent. Realizing the potential of P3HT as a hole-transport material by using a wide-bandgap halide could be a valuable direction for perovskite solar-cell research. A double-layered halide architecture for perovskite solar cells enables the use of dopant-free poly(3-hexylthiophene) as a hole-transport material, forming stable and scalable devices with a certified power conversion efficiency of 22.7 per cent., Author(s): Eui Hyuk Jung [sup.1] , Nam Joong Jeon [sup.1] , Eun Young Park [sup.1] , Chan Su Moon [sup.1] [sup.2] , Tae Joo Shin [sup.3] , Tae-Youl Yang [sup.1] [...]

Hole-transport layers (HTL) in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with an n-i-p structure are commonly doped by bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide (TFSI) salts to enhance hole conduction. While lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) dopant is a widely used and effective dopant, it has significant limitations, including the need for additional solvents and additives, environmental sensitivity, unintended oxidation, and dopant migration, which can lead to lower stability of PSCs. A novel ionic liquid, 1-(2-methoxyethyl)-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide (MMPyTFSI), is explored as an alternative dopant for 2,2',7,7'-tetrakis(N,N-di-p-methoxyphenylamino)-9,9'-spirobifluorene (spiro-OMeTAD). MMPy ions act as a surface passivator, reducing defects on the perovskite surface, while TFSI ions facilitate p-type doping. MMPyTFSI functions as an efficient dopant, maintaining excellent performance even when tetrahydrofuran (THF) is utilized as a solvent in place of chlorobenzene (CB), while significantly reducing the environmental impact of the process. The optimized PSC achieves a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 23.10% and demonstrates enhanced long-term stability in all aging tests for over 1000 h in a humid atmosphere, at high temperature, and under simulated sunlight illumination. These results demonstrate that MMPyTFSI is an effective and environmentally friendly dopant for producing stable and efficient PSCs., (© 2025 The Author(s). Advanced Science published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)