Cucurbit[6]uril builds a water channel for improving the water/salt selectivity of polybenzimidazole

Polybenzimidazole (PBI) has garnered significant interest in desalination due to its exceptional chemical stability and mechanical strength, but suffers from poor water permeability. In this work, different contents of hydroxylated Cucurbit [6]uril (CB [6] were added to PBI to build a "water transport channel". The effects of CB [6] addition on the chemical structure and surface morphology were analyzed by FTIR, SEM, and Zeta potential, respectively. Based on the solution-diffusion model, the effect of CB [6] on the water/salt transport properties of PBI membranes was thoroughly investigated. The results show that appropriate CB [6] doping can enhance water sorption of PBI through the special "outer hydrophilic and inner hydrophobic cavity" structure, and boost water diffusion with the channeling effect of the hydrophobic CB [6] cavity. While the complexation between the carbonyl group in CB [6] and Na+ ions slightly increased salt sorption, the specific cavity structure of CB [6] can significantly decrease salt diffusion by blocking salt ions and increasing transport path tortuosity. The cavity effect of CB [6] was further confirmed by hybridizing CB [6] with biphenylsulfonyl-substituted PBI when the cavity can be occupied. Therefore, the introduction of CB [6] improves the water/salt diffusion selectivity and then the permeability selectivity of PBI. Notably, the PBI@CB [6] membrane with a 0.25 wt% CB [6] loading exhibited a 40-fold increase in water permeability coefficient compared to pure PBI, while experiencing only a slight decrease in salt permeability coefficient, water/salt selectivity almost exceeding the empirical upper bound line of polymers. This work provides a theoretical foundation for the development of high-performance desalination membranes based on macrocyclic molecules such as CB [6].