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  4. The Versatility of Imidazole and Imidazolium Scaffolds in Sustainable Chemistry and Energy Conversion
 
research article

The Versatility of Imidazole and Imidazolium Scaffolds in Sustainable Chemistry and Energy Conversion

Li, Lianghui  
•
Tian, Shun  
•
Xu, Enze  
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December 12, 2025
Helvetica Chimica Acta

Imidazole is a versatile heteroaromatic ring whose properties can be systematically tuned through substitution. N‐alkylation or N‐arylation yields imidazolium cations, which are frequently low‐melting and are then described as ionic liquids (ILs), and as precursors to N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands. Substitution at the 4‐ and 5‐positions modulates the electronic and steric profiles of the five‐membered ring. Imidazole and imidazolium derivatives not only serve as solvents, catalysts, and cocatalysts in the reduction of CO 2 , but also act as electrolytes in dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) and as hole‐transport materials and multifunctional additives in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Hence, the combination of imidazole/imidazolium‐based materials with versatile structures can bridge molecular design with high‐performance catalysis and photovoltaics. This mini‐review aims to survey imidazole/imidazolium‐scaffold structures and their applications in sustainable chemistry and energy conversion, providing a perspective on the structure–function relationships and future directions.

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Type
research article
DOI
10.1002/hlca.202500188
Author(s)
Li, Lianghui  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Tian, Shun  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Xu, Enze  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Fei, Zhaofu  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Dyson, Paul J.  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Date Issued

2025-12-12

Publisher

Wiley

Published in
Helvetica Chimica Acta
Article Number

e00188

Subjects

CO 2 reduction

•

imidazoles

•

ionic liquids

•

N-heterocyclic carbenes

•

solar cells

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
LCOM  
Available on Infoscience
December 15, 2025
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/256994
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