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Henkensmeier D, Cho WC, Jannasch P, Stojadinovic J, Li Q, Aili D, Jensen JO. Separators and Membranes for Advanced Alkaline Water Electrolysis. Chem Rev 2024; 124:6393-6443. [PMID: 38669641 PMCID: PMC11117188 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.3c00694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 04/01/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
Traditionally, alkaline water electrolysis (AWE) uses diaphragms to separate anode and cathode and is operated with 5-7 M KOH feed solutions. The ban of asbestos diaphragms led to the development of polymeric diaphragms, which are now the state of the art material. A promising alternative is the ion solvating membrane. Recent developments show that high conductivities can also be obtained in 1 M KOH. A third technology is based on anion exchange membranes (AEM); because these systems use 0-1 M KOH feed solutions to balance the trade-off between conductivity and the AEM's lifetime in alkaline environment, it makes sense to treat them separately as AEM WE. However, the lifetime of AEM increased strongly over the last 10 years, and some electrode-related issues like oxidation of the ionomer binder at the anode can be mitigated by using KOH feed solutions. Therefore, AWE and AEM WE may get more similar in the future, and this review focuses on the developments in polymeric diaphragms, ion solvating membranes, and AEM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dirk Henkensmeier
- Hydrogen
· Fuel Cell Research Center, Korea
Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 02792, Republic of Korea
- Division
of Energy & Environment Technology, KIST School, University of Science and Technology, Seoul 02792, Republic of Korea
- KU-KIST
Green School, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Won-Chul Cho
- Department
of Future Energy Convergence, Seoul National
University of Science & Technology, 232 Gongreung-ro, Nowon-gu, Seoul 01811, Korea
| | - Patric Jannasch
- Polymer
& Materials Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | | | - Qingfeng Li
- Department
of Energy Conversion and Storage, Technical
University of Denmark (DTU), Fysikvej 310, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - David Aili
- Department
of Energy Conversion and Storage, Technical
University of Denmark (DTU), Fysikvej 310, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Jens Oluf Jensen
- Department
of Energy Conversion and Storage, Technical
University of Denmark (DTU), Fysikvej 310, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
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2
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Liu L, Ma H, Khan M, Hsiao BS. Recent Advances and Challenges in Anion Exchange Membranes Development/Application for Water Electrolysis: A Review. MEMBRANES 2024; 14:85. [PMID: 38668113 PMCID: PMC11051812 DOI: 10.3390/membranes14040085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2024] [Revised: 02/27/2024] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
In recent years, anion exchange membranes (AEMs) have aroused widespread interest in hydrogen production via water electrolysis using renewable energy sources. The two current commercial low-temperature water electrolysis technologies used are alkaline water electrolysis (AWE) and proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis. The AWE technology exhibited the advantages of high stability and increased cost-effectiveness with low hydrogen production efficiency. In contrast, PEM water electrolysis exhibited high hydrogen efficiency with low stability and cost-effectiveness, respectively. Unfortunately, the major challenges that AEMs, as well as the corresponding ion transportation membranes, including alkaline hydrogen separator and proton exchange membranes, still face are hydrogen production efficiency, long-term stability, and cost-effectiveness under working conditions, which exhibited critical issues that need to be addressed as a top priority. This review comprehensively presented research progress on AEMs in recent years, providing a thorough understanding of academic studies and industrial applications. It focused on analyzing the chemical structure of polymers and the performance of AEMs and established the relationship between the structure and efficiency of the membranes. This review aimed to identify approaches for improving AEM ion conductivity and alkaline stability. Additionally, future research directions for the commercialization of anion exchange membranes were discussed based on the analysis and assessment of the current applications of AEMs in patents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Hongyang Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
- Department of Chemistry, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-3400, USA
| | - Madani Khan
- Department of Chemistry, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-3400, USA
| | - Benjamin S. Hsiao
- Department of Chemistry, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-3400, USA
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3
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Zelovich T, Dekel DR, Tuckerman ME. Electrostatic Potential of Functional Cations as a Predictor of Hydroxide Diffusion Pathways in Nanoconfined Environments of Anion Exchange Membranes. J Phys Chem Lett 2024; 15:408-415. [PMID: 38179916 PMCID: PMC10801687 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c02800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2023] [Revised: 12/16/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
Nanoconfined anion exchange membranes (AEMs) play a vital role in emerging electrochemical technologies. The ability to control dominant hydroxide diffusion pathways is an important goal in the design of nanoconfined AEMs. Such control can shorten hydroxide transport pathways between electrodes, reduce transport resistance, and enhance device performance. In this work, we propose an electrostatic potential (ESP) approach to explore the effect of the polymer electrolyte cation spacing on hydroxide diffusion pathways from a molecular perspective. By exploring cation ESP energy surfaces and validating outcomes through prior ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of nanoconfined AEMs, we find that we can achieve control over preferred hydroxide diffusion pathways by adjusting the cation spacing. The results presented in this work provide a unique and straightforward approach to predict preferential hydroxide diffusion pathways, enabling efficient design of highly conductive nanoconfined AEM materials for electrochemical technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamar Zelovich
- Department
of Chemistry, New York University (NYU), New York, New York 10003, United States
| | - Dario R. Dekel
- Wolfson
Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion
− Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel
- Nancy
& Stephen Grand Technion Energy Program, Technion − Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel
| | - Mark E. Tuckerman
- Department
of Chemistry, New York University (NYU), New York, New York 10003, United States
- Courant
Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New
York University (NYU), New York, New York 10012, United States
- NYU-ECNU
Center for Computational Chemistry at NYU Shanghai, 3663 Zhongshan Rd. North, Shanghai 200062, China
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4
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Choi J, Kim H, Jeon S, Shin MG, Seo JY, Park YI, Park H, Lee AS, Lee C, Kim M, Cho HS, Lee JH. Thin Film Composite Membranes as a New Category of Alkaline Water Electrolysis Membranes. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2023; 19:e2300825. [PMID: 37231553 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202300825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2023] [Revised: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Alkaline water electrolysis (AWE) is considered a promising technology for green hydrogen (H2 ) production. Conventional diaphragm-type porous membranes have a high risk of explosion owing to their high gas crossover, while nonporous anion exchange membranes lack mechanical and thermochemical stability, limiting their practical application. Herein, a thin film composite (TFC) membrane is proposed as a new category of AWE membranes. The TFC membrane consists of an ultrathin quaternary ammonium (QA) selective layer formed via Menshutkin reaction-based interfacial polymerization on a porous polyethylene (PE) support. The dense, alkaline-stable, and highly anion-conductive QA layer prevents gas crossover while promoting anion transport. The PE support reinforces the mechanical and thermochemical properties, while its highly porous and thin structure reduces mass transport resistance across the TFC membrane. Consequently, the TFC membrane exhibits unprecedentedly high AWE performance (1.16 A cm-2 at 1.8 V) using nonprecious group metal electrodes with a potassium hydroxide (25 wt%) aqueous solution at 80 °C, significantly outperforming commercial and other lab-made AWE membranes. Moreover, the TFC membrane demonstrates remarkably low gas crossover, long-term stability, and stack cell operability, thereby ensuring its commercial viability for green H2 production. This strategy provides an advanced material platform for energy and environmental applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juyeon Choi
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Korea University, 145 Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Hansoo Kim
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Korea University, 145 Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Sungkwon Jeon
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Korea University, 145 Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Min Gyu Shin
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Korea University, 145 Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Jin Young Seo
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Korea University, 145 Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - You-In Park
- Center for Membranes, Advanced Materials Division, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), 141 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34114, Republic of Korea
| | - Hosik Park
- Center for Membranes, Advanced Materials Division, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), 141 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34114, Republic of Korea
| | - Albert S Lee
- Materials Architecturing Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), 5 Hwarang-ro 14-gil, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, 02792, Republic of Korea
| | - Changsoo Lee
- Hydrogen Research Department, Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), 152 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34129, Republic of Korea
| | - MinJoong Kim
- Hydrogen Research Department, Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), 152 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34129, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyun-Seok Cho
- Hydrogen Research Department, Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), 152 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34129, Republic of Korea
| | - Jung-Hyun Lee
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Korea University, 145 Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea
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5
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Willdorf-Cohen S, Zhegur-Khais A, Ponce-González J, Bsoul-Haj S, Varcoe JR, Diesendruck CE, Dekel DR. Alkaline Stability of Anion-Exchange Membranes. ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS 2023; 6:1085-1092. [PMID: 36937111 PMCID: PMC10016746 DOI: 10.1021/acsaem.2c03689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Recently, the development of durable anion-exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) has increased in intensity due to their potential to use low-cost, sustainable components. However, the decomposition of the quaternary ammonium (QA) cationic groups in the anion-exchange membranes (AEMs) during cell operation is still a major challenge. Many different QA types and functionalized polymers have been proposed that achieve high AEM stabilities in strongly alkaline aqueous solutions. We previously developed an ex situ technique to measure AEM alkaline stabilities in an environment that simulates the low-hydration conditions in an operating AEMFC. However, this method required the AEMs to be soluble in DMSO solvent, so decomposition could be monitored using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). We now report the extension of this ex situ protocol to spectroscopically measure the alkaline stability of insoluble AEMs. The stability ofradiation-grafted (RG) poly(ethylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene)-(ETFE)-based poly(vinylbenzyltrimethylammonium) (ETFE-TMA) and poly(vinylbenzyltriethylammonium) (ETFE-TEA) AEMs were studied using Raman spectroscopy alongside changes in their true OH- conductivities and ion-exchange capacities (IEC). A crosslinked polymer made from poly(styrene-co-vinylbenzyl chloride) random copolymer and N,N,N',N'-tetraethyl-1,3-propanediamine (TEPDA) was also studied. The results are consistent with our previous studies based on QA-type model small molecules and soluble poly(2,6-dimethylphenylene oxide) (PPO) polymers. Our work presents a reliable ex situ technique to measure the true alkaline stability of AEMs for fuel cells and water electrolyzers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sapir Willdorf-Cohen
- The
Wolfson Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa3200003, Israel
| | - Avital Zhegur-Khais
- The
Wolfson Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa3200003, Israel
| | - Julia Ponce-González
- School
of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University
of Surrey, GuildfordGU2 7XH, U.K.
| | - Saja Bsoul-Haj
- The
Wolfson Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa3200003, Israel
| | - John R. Varcoe
- School
of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University
of Surrey, GuildfordGU2 7XH, U.K.
| | - Charles E. Diesendruck
- Schulich
Faculty of Chemistry, Technion—Israel
Institute of Technology, Haifa3200003, Israel
- The
Nancy & Stephen Grand Technion Energy Program (GTEP), Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa3200003, Israel
| | - Dario R. Dekel
- The
Wolfson Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa3200003, Israel
- The
Nancy & Stephen Grand Technion Energy Program (GTEP), Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa3200003, Israel
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6
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Gatto I, Patti A, Carbone A. Assessment of the FAA3‐50 Polymer Electrolyte for Anion Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells. ChemElectroChem 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/celc.202201052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Irene Gatto
- Institute for Advanced Energy Technologies “Nicola Giordano” – CNR-ITAE Via S. Lucia sopra Contesse 5 98126 Messina Italy
| | - Assunta Patti
- Institute for Advanced Energy Technologies “Nicola Giordano” – CNR-ITAE Via S. Lucia sopra Contesse 5 98126 Messina Italy
| | - Alessandra Carbone
- Institute for Advanced Energy Technologies “Nicola Giordano” – CNR-ITAE Via S. Lucia sopra Contesse 5 98126 Messina Italy
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