We developed porous silica supported zinc-functionalized IL sorbents prepared by confining a thin layer of IL onto the surface of SBA-15. This novel hybrid sorbent system exhibited unprecedented high uptake capacity of up to 4.7 mmol CO2 g(-1) sorbent, a dramatic enhancement compared to bulk IL (600%) and bare support (250%). Most remarkably, the rate of uptake was improved by up to 10 times, synergistically arising from the strong affinity of the IL to CO2, and the large surface area and high porosity of the support. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.