The Novel Ionic Liquid and Its Related Self-Assembly in the Areas of Energy Storage and Conversion

Ionic liquids (ILs) are one kind of molten salts, which have been widely used across multiple disciplines in science and engineering. The recent development makes ILs no longer just as the solvent, and more attention has been put to applications of their unique structure and functionalities. This raises the importance to explore advanced IL-derived materials, which retain most of the characteristics of ILs and are endowed with new features, namely novel ILs. The novel ILs, including deep eutectic solvents (DESs), poly(ionic liquid)s (PILs), ionic liquid crystals (ILCs), and redox-active ionic liquids (RAILs), have distinct advantages over traditional ILs, such as enhancing the reaction rate, selectivity, and productivity in various chemical reactions. Given the unique physical and chemical properties, electrochemical behavior, and self-assembled structures, novel ILs have emerged as promising materials in various applications, specifically in energy storage and conversion. Herein, the intrinsic properties of novel ILs and their related self-assembly behavior in advanced energy storage technology are focused. And the perspectives and challenges of novel ILs in the fields of energy storage and conversion are also proposed.