Engineering a molecular-sieving architecture on PIL-functionalized UiO-66-NH2 membranes toward CO₂/N₂ separation

A PIL-functionalized PET supported UiO-66-NH2 membrane (PET/UiO-66-NH2@PIL) was synthesized through photoinduced crosslinking of 1-vinyl-3-butylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([VBIM][BF4]), establishing a coordination-induced hierarchical architecture. This engineered membrane synergistically combines the CO2-philic sites of PIL molecular-sieving domains with the size-exclusion effect of UiO-66-NH2 nanocages, achieving exceptional CO2 permeance of 162 GPU and CO2/N2 selectivity up to 68.3.