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Can low-cost marketing tools that are used to enhance business performance also contribute to creating a better world? The authors investigate the role of online social media tools in alleviating customer (farmer) uncertainty and promoting the adoption of a new eco-friendly pesticide in rural China via a randomized controlled field experiment. The key finding is that even for a new product such as a pesticide, a low-cost social media support platform can effectively promote adoption. A combination of information from peers and from the firm on the platform facilitates learning about product features and alleviates uncertainty associated with product quality and appropriate product usage. Nevertheless, at the trial stage of the funnel, the platform underperforms the firm's customized one-on-one support because available information does not resolve uncertainty in supplier credibility and product authenticity. Having an influencer on the platform, albeit not an expert on this product, vouching for its credibility helps resolve this funnel-holdup problem. From a theoretical perspective, this paper provides suggestive evidence for referent influence and credibility signaling on social media platforms and consequences for new product trial. The authors also provide direct empirical evidence on how information facilitates learning, a phenomenon typically assumed to be present in studies estimating learning models.

The development of the Internet of Things (IoT) technology and their integration in smart cities have changed the way we work and live, and enriched our society. However, IoT technologies present several challenges such as increases in energy consumption, and produces toxic pollution as well as E-waste in smart cities. Smart city applications must be environmentally-friendly, hence require a move towards green IoT. Green IoT leads to an eco-friendly environment, which is more sustainable for smart cities. Therefore, it is essential to address the techniques and strategies for reducing pollution hazards, traffic waste, resource usage, energy consumption, providing public safety, life quality, and sustaining the environment and cost management. This survey focuses on providing a comprehensive review of the techniques and strategies for making cities smarter, sustainable, and eco-friendly. Furthermore, the survey focuses on IoT and its capabilities to merge into aspects of potential to address the needs of smart cities. Finally, we discuss challenges and opportunities for future research in smart city applications.

Luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) have attracted significant attention as promising solar energy conversion devices for building integrated photovoltaic (PV) systems due to their simple architecture and cost‐effective fabrication. Conventional LSCs are generally comprised of an optical waveguide slab with embedded emissive species and coupled PV cells. Colloidal semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have been demonstrated as efficient emissive species for high‐performance LSCs because of their outstanding optical properties including tunable absorption and emission spectra covering the ultraviolet/visible to near‐infrared region, high photoluminescence quantum yield, large absorption cross sections, and considerable photostability. However, current commonly used QDs for high‐performance LSCs consist of highly toxic heavy metals (i.e., cadmium and lead), which are fatal to human health and the environment. In this regard, it is highly desired that heavy metal‐free and environmentally friendly QD‐based LSCs are comprehensively studied. Here, notable advances and developments of LSCs based on unary, binary, and ternary eco‐friendly QDs are presented. The synthetic approaches, optical properties of these eco‐friendly QDs, and consequent device performance of QD‐based LSCs are discussed in detail. A brief outlook pointing out the existing challenges and prospective developments of eco‐friendly QD‐based LSCs is provided, offering guidelines for future device optimizations and commercialization. Luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) based on unary, binary, and ternary eco‐friendly quantum dots (QDs) are reviewed. The synthetic methods, optical properties of these eco‐friendly QDs, and corresponding LSCs' device parameters (e.g., optical efficiencies) are discussed. A deep insight into eco‐friendly QD‐based LSCs paves the way for future low‐cost, environmentally friendly, and high‐efficiency solar energy conversion devices.

As sustainability and food safety continue to gain more attention, the demand for environmentally friendly packaging materials has increased significantly. This review emphasizes the transformative potential of activated carbon derived from renewable sources in addressing critical challenges in food packaging. Activated carbon is recognized for its outstanding adsorption capacity, large surface area, and porous structure, which enable it to capture gases such as oxygen, moisture, and ethylene, all of which contribute to food deterioration. In addition to these properties, activated carbon exhibits antimicrobial activity and can facilitate the release of nanoparticles, thereby enhancing food safety through the inhibition of microbial growth. Its multifunctional characteristics make it suitable for various uses, including prolonging shelf life and maintaining the sensory attributes of food products. The local production of activated carbon from agricultural residues supports circular economy practices by reducing reliance on fossil-based resources and minimizing environmental impact. This review highlights the important role of activated carbon in the development of sustainable and multifunctional food packaging technologies that support global initiatives aimed at reducing plastic waste and promoting green innovation.

In the face of mounting environmental concerns, the textile industry is undergoing a pivotal transformation, with sustainability at the forefront of innovation. This review focuses on the exploration of natural compounds, renowned for their antimicrobial properties, as viable alternatives to conventional chemical agents that pose significant environmental challenges. It delves into a diverse array of natural sources, including plant extracts, essential oils, and microbial‐derived compounds, which have been identified for their potent antimicrobial efficacy. These natural agents not only demonstrate a broad spectrum of activity against pathogenic microorganisms but also represent a stride towards eco‐friendly textile processing by offering a sustainable substitute for synthetic antimicrobials. The integration of these green antimicrobial agents into textiles is scrutinized, with a particular emphasis on their impact on enhancing fabric functionalities. This includes improvements in durability, wash resistance, and the sustained antimicrobial effectiveness of treated fabrics, without sacrificing environmental integrity. Moreover, the study underscores the potential health benefits of these natural agents, such as a decrease in allergic reactions and skin irritations commonly associated with traditional antimicrobial treatments. The review culminates by highlighting the significant role these eco‐conscious solutions play in revolutionizing antimicrobial textiles, promoting industry‐wide sustainable practices, and catering to the escalating consumer demand for environmentally responsible products. Highlights Provides eco‐friendly and sustainable alternatives in textile processing, offering a greener choice over synthetic options. Enhances fabric functionality while preserving environmental integrity, addressing sustainability concerns throughout production. Improves fabric durability, wash resistance, and long‐lasting efficacy, thereby contributing to superior product performance. Reduces allergic reactions and skin irritations, underscoring the health benefits of eco‐friendly antimicrobial treatments. Promotes sustainable practices, shaping the future of antimicrobial textiles and catering to the growing demand for environmentally conscious consumer choices in the industry. Natural antimicrobial agents from various natural sources, their extraction process, applications, and role in sustainable textile antimicrobial finishing.

Biopolymers are mainly the polymers which are created or obtained from living creatures such as plants and bacteria rather than petroleum, which has traditionally been the source of polymers. Biopolymers are chain-like molecules composed of repeated chemical blocks derived from renewable resources that may decay in the environment. The usage of biomaterials is becoming more popular as a means of reducing the use of non-renewable resources and reducing environmental pollution produced by synthetic materials. Biopolymers' biodegradability and non-toxic nature help to maintain our environment clean and safe. This study discusses how to improve the mechanical and physical characteristics of biopolymers, particularly in the realm of bioengineering. The paper begins with a fundamental introduction and progresses to a detailed examination of synthesis and a unique investigation of several recent focused biopolymers with mechanical, physical, and biological characterization. Biopolymers' unique non-toxicity, biodegradability, biocompatibility, and eco-friendly features are boosting their applications, especially in bioengineering fields, including agriculture, pharmaceuticals, biomedical, ecological, industrial, aqua treatment, and food packaging, among others, at the end of this paper. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the relevance of biopolymers in smart and novel bioengineering applications. Graphical abstract The Graphical abstract represents the biological sources and applications of biopolymers. Plants, bacteria, animals, agriculture wastes, and fossils are all biological sources for biopolymers, which are chemically manufactured from biological monomer units, including sugars, amino acids, natural fats and oils, and nucleotides. Biopolymer modification (chemical or physical) is recognized as a crucial technique for modifying physical and chemical characteristics, resulting in novel materials with improved capabilities and allowing them to be explored to their full potential in many fields of application such as tissue engineering, drug delivery, agriculture, biomedical, food industries, and industrial applications.

In this study, ground glass powder and crushed waste glass were used to replace coarse and fine aggregates. Within the scope of the study, fine aggregate (FA) and coarse aggregate (CA) were changed separately with proportions of 10%, 20%, 40%, and 50%. According to the mechanical test, including compression, splitting tensile, and flexural tests, the waste glass powder creates a better pozzolanic effect and increases the strength, while the glass particles tend to decrease the strength when they are swapped with aggregates. As observed in the splitting tensile test, noteworthy progress in the tensile strength of the concrete was achieved by 14%, while the waste glass used as a fractional replacement for the fine aggregate. In samples where glass particles were swapped with CA, the tensile strength tended to decrease. It was noticed that with the adding of waste glass at 10%, 20%, 40%, and 50% of FA swapped, the increase in flexural strength was 3.2%, 6.3%, 11.1%, and 4.8%, respectively, in amount to the reference one (6.3 MPa). Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis consequences also confirm the strength consequences obtained from the experimental study. While it is seen that glass powder provides better bonding with cement with its pozzolanic effect and this has a positive effect on strength consequences, it is seen that voids are formed in the samples where large glass pieces are swapped with aggregate and this affects the strength negatively. Furthermore, simple equations using existing data in the literature and the consequences obtained from the current study were also developed to predict mechanical properties of the concrete with recycled glass for practical applications. Based on findings obtained from our study, 20% replacement for FA and CA with waste glass is recommended.

In recent times, the escalation of greenhouse gases, air pollution and depletion of the ozone layer has enforced the researchers to renovate the regular use of fossil fuels into alternate methods which are non-toxic, eco-friendly, and cost-effective. Biomass is one of the traditions to swap fossil fuels. Biomass can be transmogrified into beneficial and eco-friendly forms of energy under various conversion processes. The obtained energy can be used for heating water, industrial heating process, and generating electricity. Pyrolysis is a method to alter biomass into useful products, as the final yields of this process include bio-oil, char, methane (CH 4 ), hydrogen (H 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). It is well known for its high efficiency and environmental performance. In this method even the agricultural residues, waste woods, solid municipal waste, plant wastes can be utilized. This review comprehends the various concepts on products of biomass pyrolysis, mechanisms, and several pre-treatment processes used for efficient pyrolysis of biomass have been analysed. The impact of various fundamental constraints such as temperature, heating rate, particle size was studied and their influence on yield and composition were studied.

Heavy metal ions can be introduced into the water through several point and non-point sources including leather industry, coal mining, agriculture activity and domestic waste. Regrettably, these toxic heavy metals may pose a threat to both humans and animals, particularly when they infiltrate water and soil. Heavy metal poisoning can lead to many health complications, such as liver and renal dysfunction, dermatological difficulties, and potentially even malignancies. To mitigate the risk of heavy metal ion exposure to humans and animals, it is imperative to extract them from places that have been polluted. Several conventional methods such as ion exchange, reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, membrane filtration and chemical precipitation have been used for the removal of heavy metal ions. However, these methods have high operation costs and generate secondary pollutants during water treatment. Biosorption is an alternative approach to eliminating heavy metals from water that involves employing eco-friendly and cost-effective biomass. This review is focused on the heavy metal ions contamination in the water, biosorption methods for heavy metal removal and mathematical modeling to explain the behaviour of heavy metal adsorption. This review can be helpful to the researchers to design wastewater treatment plants for sustainable wastewater treatment.

The important but remained issue to be addressed to achieve the mass production of perovskite solar modules include a large‐area fabrication of high‐quality perovskite film with eco‐friendly, viable production methods. Although several efforts are made to achieve large‐area fabrication of perovskite, the development of eco‐friendly solvent system, which is precisely designed to be fit to scale‐up methods are still challenging. Herein, this work develops the eco‐friendly solvent/co‐solvent system to produce a high‐quality perovskite layer with a bathing in eco‐friendly antisolvent. The new co‐solvent/additive, methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), efficiently improves the overall solubility and has a suitable binding strength to the perovskite precursor, resulting in a high‐quality perovskite film with antisolvent bathing method in large area. The resultant perovskite solar cells showed high power conversion efficiency of over 24% (in reverse scan), with a good long‐term stability under continuous light illumination or damp‐heat condition. MSM is also beneficial to produce a perovskite layer at low‐temperature or high‐humidity. MSM‐based solvent system is finally applied to large‐area, resulting in highly efficiency perovskite solar modules with PCE of 19.9% (by aperture) or 21.2% (by active area) in reverse scan. These findings contribute to step forward to a mass production of perovskite solar modules with eco‐friendly way. A rationally designed eco‐friendly solvent system comprising of GBL and new additive, MSM, is newly suggested. Highly efficient over 24% of PCE and stable (over 1000 h) PSCs are presented. New solvent system is more suitable for mass production of PSCs, achieving ≈21% PCE in 25 cm2 solar minimodule, with high tolerance of processing temperature and humidity conditions.