Aqueous-phase synthesis of hollow ZIF-8@poly(ionic liquid) core–shell nanoreactors for enhanced CO2–epoxide coupling reaction

Abstract

We report an aqueous-phase synthesis of hollow ZIF-8@poly(ionic liquid) 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.