Separation processes serve as a pivotal link for the chemical industry to achieve the “Dual Carbon”goals, among which adsorptive separation has been widely applied. The design and fabrication of adsorbent materials mainly focus on boosting specific surface areas, tuning pore architectures, and constructing specific chemisorption sites. However, balancing adsorption and desorption performance has remained a longstanding research bottleneck, and adsorbent regeneration accounts for the majority of energy consumption in adsorptive separation processes. In this work, photo-responsive smart adsorbents are fabricated to dynamically regulate adsorption and desorption under light irradiation, enabling reversible switching between adsorption and desorption states. These adsorbents are categorized into two types: molecular deformation-type and non-deformation-type. The core feature of deformation-based photo-responsive molecules lies in dramatic geometric structural transformations upon irradiation with specific wavelengths, including cis-trans isomerization, dimerization, and cyclization isomerization. Such structural reconfigurations adjust the pore structures and the exposure degree of active sites in adsorbents, thus realizing efficient switching of adsorption and desorption for target components while simultaneously improving separation efficiency and regenerability. Adsorbents based on non-deformable photo-responsive molecules do not depend on light-induced conformational changes. Instead, photo-induced charge transfer and electronic state transitions are adopted to adjust the electronic properties of adsorption active sites (e.g., surface electrostatic potential, charge density, and frontier molecular orbital energy levels). This tunes the interaction strength between adsorbents and target components to realize light-controlled adsorption and desorption. For future research on smart adsorptive separation technologies: for deformation-type systems, priorities include optimizing the interfacial compatibility between photoresponsive molecules and host supports, as well as enhancing structural reversibility and cycling stability. For non-deformation-type systems, studies should expand the range of available photosensitizers and explore the compatibility of non-carbon supports. Universal adsorbents suitable for multicomponent mixtures can be developed through the deep integration of theoretical simulations and experimental characterizations. This work can provide core technical support to address the high energy consumption of chemical separation, establish low-carbon and sustainable separation systems, and help the chemical industry attain the “Dual Carbon”goals.

adsorptive separation,photo-response,deformable molecule,excited state