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Ionic liquids (ILs) with remarkable performance offer opportunities to advance green and low-carbon chemical processes. Thus, much work is focused on building an innovative theory and knowledge framework to unravel the nature of ILs. Moreover, there is an increasing trend to utilize ILs in rapidly emerging fields. Aiming to provide an overview of the recent advances and challenges of ILs in the development of green processes for renewable resources, this review highlights the properties and functions of ILs in IL gating and as electrolyte additives, modifiers, exfoliation agents, nucleation substrates, tunable solvents, versatile carriers and biosensor components in three representative and revolutionary production processes, namely, new energy, electronic information materials, and biotechnologies. The innovative applications of ILs demonstrate their potential to create a landscape of low-carbon, high-end and smart technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of full‐scale ongoing global efforts, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the organic‐inorganic metal halide perovskite has skyrocketed. Unfortunately, the long‐term operational stability for commercialization standards is still lagging owing to intrinsic defects such as ion migration‐induced degradation, undercoordinated Pb2+, and shallow defects initiated by disordered crystal growth. Herein, we employed multifunctional, non‐volatile tetra‐methyl guanidine hydrochloride [TMGHCL] ionic liquid (IL) as an additive to elucidate defects' passivation effects on organic‐inorganic metal halide perovskite. More specifically, the formation of hydrogen bonds between H+ in GA+ and I− and coordinate bonding between Cl− and undercoordinated Pb2+ could significantly passivate these defects. The hypothesis was confirmed by both experimental and DFT simulations displaying that the optimized ratio of IL integration restrains ion migration, improving grains' size, and significantly elongating the carrier lifetime. Remarkably, the modified cell achieved a peak efficiency of 22.00 % with negligible hysteresis, compared to the control device's PCE of 20.12 %. In addition, the TMGHCL‐based device retains its 93.29 % efficiency after 16 days of continuous exposure to air with a relative humidity of 35±5% and temperature of 25±5 °C. This efficient approach of adding IL to perovskites absorber can produce high PCE and has strong commercialization potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pursuit of highly efficient and stable wide‐band gap (WBG) perovskite solar cells (PSCs), especially for monolithic perovskite/silicon tandem devices, is a key focus in achieving the commercialization of perovskite photovoltaics. In this study, we initially designed poly(ionic liquid)s (PILs) with varying alkyl chain lengths based on density functional theory calculations. Results pinpoint that PILs with longer alkyl chain lengths tend to exhibit more robust binding energy with the perovskite structure. Then we synthesized the PILs to craft a hydrophobic hydrogen‐bonded polymer network (HHPN) that passivates the WBG perovskite/electron transport layer interface, inhibits ion migration and serves as a barrier layer against water and oxygen ingression. Accordingly, the HHPN effectively curbs nonradiative recombination losses while facilitating efficient carrier transport, resulting in substantially enhanced open‐circuit voltage (Voc) and fill factor. As a result, the optimized single‐junction WBG PSC achieves an impressive efficiency of 23.18 %, with Voc as high as 1.25 V, which is the highest reported for WBG (over 1.67 eV) PSCs. These devices also demonstrate outstanding thermostability and humidity resistance. Notably, this versatile strategy can be extended to textured perovskite/silicon tandem cells, reaching a remarkable efficiency of 28.24 % while maintaining exceptional operational stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Afterglow luminescence imaging probes, with long‐lived emission after cessation of light excitation, have drawn increasing attention in biomedical imaging field owing to their elimination of autofluorescence. However, current afterglow agents always suffer from an unsatisfactory signal intensity and complex systems consisting of multiple ingredients. To address these issues, this study reports a near‐infrared (NIR) afterglow luminophore (TPP‐DO) by chemical conjugation of an afterglow substrate and a photosensitizer acting as both an afterglow initiator and an energy relay unit into a single molecule, resulting in an intramolecular energy transfer process to improve the afterglow brightness. The constructed TPP‐DO NPs emit a strong NIR afterglow luminescence with a signal intensity of up to 108 p/s/cm2/sr at a low concentration of 10 μM and a low irradiation power density of 0.05 W/cm2, which is almost two orders of magnitude higher than most existing organic afterglow probes. The highly bright NIR afterglow luminescence with minimized background from TPP‐DO NPs allows a deep tissue penetration depth ability. Moreover, we develop a GSH‐activatable afterglow probe (Q‐TPP‐DO NPs) for ultrasensitive detection of subcutaneous tumor with the smallest tumor volume of 0.048 mm3, demonstrating the high potential for early diagnosis and imaging‐guided surgical resection of tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photoelectric properties of nontoxic Sn‐based perovskite make it a promising alternative to toxic Pb‐based perovskite. It has superior photovoltaic performance in comparison to other Pb‐free counterparts. The facile oxidation of Sn2+ to Sn4+ presents a notable obstacle in the advancement of perovskite solar cells that utilize Sn, as it adversely affects their stability and performance. The study revealed the presence of a Sn4+ concentration on both the upper and lower surfaces of the perovskite layer. This discovery led to the adoption of a bi‐interface optimization approach. A thin layer of Sn metal was inserted at the two surfaces of the perovskite layer. The implementation of this intervention yielded a significant decrease in the levels of Sn4+ and trap densities. The power conversion efficiency of the device was achieved at 14.31 % through the optimization of carrier transportation. The device exhibited operational and long‐term stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photoelectric properties of nontoxic Sn‐based perovskite make it a promising alternative to toxic Pb‐based perovskite. It has superior photovoltaic performance in comparison to other Pb‐free counterparts. The facile oxidation of Sn2+ to Sn4+ presents a notable obstacle in the advancement of perovskite solar cells that utilize Sn, as it adversely affects their stability and performance. The study revealed the presence of a Sn4+ concentration on both the upper and lower surfaces of the perovskite layer. This discovery led to the adoption of a bi‐interface optimization approach. A thin layer of Sn metal was inserted at the two surfaces of the perovskite layer. The implementation of this intervention yielded a significant decrease in the levels of Sn4+ and trap densities. The power conversion efficiency of the device was achieved at 14.31 % through the optimization of carrier transportation. The device exhibited operational and long‐term stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photoelectric properties of nontoxic Sn‐based perovskite make it a promising alternative to toxic Pb‐based perovskite. It has superior photovoltaic performance in comparison to other Pb‐free counterparts. The facile oxidation of Sn2+ to Sn4+ presents a notable obstacle in the advancement of perovskite solar cells that utilize Sn, as it adversely affects their stability and performance. The study revealed the presence of a Sn4+ concentration on both the upper and lower surfaces of the perovskite layer. This discovery led to the adoption of a bi‐interface optimization approach. A thin layer of Sn metal was inserted at the two surfaces of the perovskite layer. The implementation of this intervention yielded a significant decrease in the levels of Sn4+ and trap densities. The power conversion efficiency of the device was achieved at 14.31 % through the optimization of carrier transportation. The device exhibited operational and long‐term stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photoelectric properties of nontoxic Sn‐based perovskite make it a promising alternative to toxic Pb‐based perovskite. It has superior photovoltaic performance in comparison to other Pb‐free counterparts. The facile oxidation of Sn2+ to Sn4+ presents a notable obstacle in the advancement of perovskite solar cells that utilize Sn, as it adversely affects their stability and performance. The study revealed the presence of a Sn4+ concentration on both the upper and lower surfaces of the perovskite layer. This discovery led to the adoption of a bi‐interface optimization approach. A thin layer of Sn metal was inserted at the two surfaces of the perovskite layer. The implementation of this intervention yielded a significant decrease in the levels of Sn4+ and trap densities. The power conversion efficiency of the device was achieved at 14.31 % through the optimization of carrier transportation. The device exhibited operational and long‐term stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introducing magnetic order into a topological insulator via the magnetic proximity effect can break the time-reversal symmetry of the topological surface states, resulting in a variety of exotic physical phenomena that are expected to be applied in spintronic devices. However, in the topological insulator/ferromagnet heterostructures obtained so far, the interfacial hybridization is too weak and difficult to induce sufficiently strong magnetism in the topological insulator. In this work, we investigate the electrical transport properties of Bi2Te3 (Sb2Te3)/SrRuO3 heterostructures and demonstrate the presence of the magnetic proximity effect in them. The Curie temperature of Bi2Te3 (Sb2Te3)/SrRuO3 heterostructures was found to be increased by about 25 K. The coercive field was suppressed in the magnetoresistance; the Hall curves of Bi2Te3 (Sb2Te3)/SrRuO3 heterostructures exhibited different orientations and appeared non-linear behavior at high fields, and the anisotropic magnetoresistance changed from twofold rotational symmetry to quadruple symmetry. These provide direct evidence for the emergence of the magnetic proximity effect. This work will help to study the magnetic proximity effect in the topological insulators and paves the way for spintronic devices in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]