The transport of Zn(II) from z unary chloride solutions and from solutions which contain mixtures of Cd(II), Co(II) and Ni(II) ions in source phases (cMe = 0.001 mol/dm3, pH = 6.0) across polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs) doped with 1-hexyl-4-methylimidazole as ion carrier was studied. The use of 1-hexyl-4-methylimidazole enables the separation of 98.5% Zn(II) from a unary solution and 96.9% from a quaternary solution of Zn(II)-Cd(II)-Co(II)-Ni(II) after running the process for 24 hours. Using that ion carrier, the metals are separated in the following order: Zn(II) > Cd(II) > Ni(II) > Co(II), and the selectivity coefficients of Zn(II)/Cd(II), Zn(II)/Ni(II), and Zn(II)/Co(II) are 12.9, 23.4 and 40.8, respectively. Findings of atomic force microscopy (AFM) examinations as well as thermograms of a polymer inclusion membrane containing 1-hexyl-4-methylimidazole are also presented. A membrane with 1.0 mol/dm3 of carrier has a porosity of 15.8%, and roughness of 6.6 nm. The membranes remain thermally stable at temperatures up to 200oC. The findings were compared with earlier-reported results for 1-hexylimidazole.