Highly Chiral Selective Resolution in Pillar[6]arenes Functionalized Microchannel Membranes

High flux microchannel membranes have the potential for large scale separations. However, it is prevented by poor enantioselectivity. Therefore, the development of a high-enantioselective microchannel membrane is of great importance for large scale chiral separations. In this work, chiral gold nanoparticles are incorporated into the microchannel membrane to astringe the large pores and improve the enantioselectivity. Here, the gold nanoparticles are functionalized by l-phenylalanine-derived pil-lararenes (l-Phe-P6@AuNPs) as the chiral receptor of R-phenylglycinol (R-PGC) over its enantiomer. This chiral Au NPs coated microchannel membrane (l-Phe-P6@AuNPs microchannel) shows a selectivity of 5.40 for R-PGC and a flux of 140.35 nmol·cm–2·h–1, where the enantioselectivity is improved, ensuring its flux. Compared with the enantioselectivity and flux of nanochannel membranes reported in literatures, the l-Phe-P6@AuNPs microchannel has the advantage for enantioselectivity and flux for chiral separation.