Abstract An emerging challenge occurs for recovering ionic liquids (ILs) because of their exponential growth in academic and industrial applications. We report for the first time to reclaim water-soluble ILs from their aqueous solutions by osmotically driving water to spontaneously permeate through semi-permeable membranes. Theoretical simulation indicates a weak hydrability of ILs and a tendency to form micelles in water. We thus demonstrate a significant difference in osmotic pressures between the aqueous solutions of ILs and inorganic salts. Four categories of broadly representative ILs are continuously recovered from their diluent aqueous solutions (~1 wt%) with semi-permeable membranes. Eventually, a record-high concentration up to 58–78 wt% is achieved in this work. Our strategy integrates superiorities of low energy consumption, universal applicability toward ILs, diversified selection of semi-permeable membranes, almost unattenuated water flux and high rejection to ions, hopefully providing new insights into the authentic “green” industrial applications of ILs.

中文翻译：

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渗透压作为从水溶液中回收离子液体的驱动力

摘要 由于离子液体 (IL) 在学术和工业应用中呈指数增长，因此在回收离子液体 (IL) 方面面临着新的挑战。我们首次报道通过渗透驱动水自发渗透通过半透膜，从水溶液中回收水溶性 IL。理论模拟表明 IL 的弱水合性和在水中形成胶束的趋势。因此，我们证明了 IL 和无机盐的水溶液之间的渗透压存在显着差异。四类具有广泛代表性的离子液体通过半透膜从它们的稀释水溶液 (~1 wt%) 中连续回收。最终，在这项工作中实现了高达 58-78 wt% 的创纪录高浓度。我们的战略整合了低能耗的优势，