Aqueous-Phase Synthesis of Hollow ZIF-8@Poly(ionic liquid)s Core-Shell Nanoreactors for Enhanced CO2-epoxide coupling reaction

Abstract

We report an aqueous-phase synthesis of hollow ZIF-8@Poly(ionic liquid)s core-shell nanoreactors for the synergistic conversion of CO2 and epoxides. The core, synthesized from 2-methylimidazole and 2-vinylimidazole, features enhanced hydrophobicity and abundant vinyl groups. These characteristics facilitate the in-situ surface-selective polymerization of ionic liquids in water, directly yielding the hollow nanoreactor architecture. The resulting ZIF-8-V@PILs-x materials function as synergistic nanoreactors, which markedly boost the activity and kinetics for the CO2-epoxide coupling reaction.