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Rocha F, Georgiadis C, Van Droogenbroek K, Delmelle R, Pinon X, Pyka G, Kerckhofs G, Egert F, Razmjooei F, Ansar SA, Mitsushima S, Proost J. Proton exchange membrane-like alkaline water electrolysis using flow-engineered three-dimensional electrodes. Nat Commun 2024; 15:7444. [PMID: 39198396 PMCID: PMC11358494 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-51704-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 08/15/2024] [Indexed: 09/01/2024] Open
Abstract
For high rate water electrolysers, minimising Ohmic losses through efficient gas bubble evacuation away from the active electrode is as important as minimising activation losses by improving the electrode's electrocatalytic properties. In this work, by a combined experimental and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach, we identify the topological parameters of flow-engineered 3-D electrodes that direct their performance towards enhanced bubble evacuation. In particular, we show that integrating Ni-based foam electrodes into a laterally-graded bi-layer zero-gap cell configuration allows for alkaline water electrolysis to become Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM)-like, even when keeping a state-of-the-art Zirfon diaphragm. Detailed CFD simulations, explicitly taking into account the entire 3-D electrode and cell topology, show that under a forced uniform upstream electrolyte flow, such a graded structure induces a high lateral velocity component in the direction normal to and away from the diaphragm. This work is therefore an invitation to start considering PEM-like cell designs for alkaline water electrolysis as well, in particular the use of square or rectangular electrodes in flow-through type electrochemical cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernando Rocha
- Division of Materials and Process Engineering, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Christos Georgiadis
- Division of Materials and Process Engineering, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Kevin Van Droogenbroek
- Division of Materials and Process Engineering, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Renaud Delmelle
- Division of Materials and Process Engineering, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Xavier Pinon
- Division of Materials and Process Engineering, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Grzegorz Pyka
- Division of Materials and Process Engineering, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Greet Kerckhofs
- Division of Materials and Process Engineering, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Franz Egert
- Institute of Engineering Thermodynamics, German Aerospace Center, Stuttgart, Germany
- University of Stuttgart, Faculty 6 - Aerospace Engineering and Geodesy, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Fatemeh Razmjooei
- Institute of Engineering Thermodynamics, German Aerospace Center, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Syed-Asif Ansar
- Institute of Engineering Thermodynamics, German Aerospace Center, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Shigenori Mitsushima
- Division of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Yokohama National University, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Joris Proost
- Division of Materials and Process Engineering, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
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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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Yu J, Zhu Q, Ma W, Dai Y, Zhang S, Wang F, Zhu H. Hydrophilic Chitosan-Doped Composite Diaphragm Reducing Gas Permeation for Alkaline Water Electrolysis Producing Hydrogen. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2024; 16:1394-1403. [PMID: 38157839 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c13426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
The present paper studied the chitosan-doped composite diaphragm by the phase exchange method with the objective of developing a composite diaphragm that complies with the alkaline water electrolysis requirements, as well as tested the electrolytic performance of the diaphragm in alkaline water electrolysis. The structure and morphology are characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The performance of chitosan-doped composite diaphragms was tested; CS3Z12 composite diaphragm with a low area resistance (0.20 Ω cm2), a high bubble point pressure (2.75 bar), and excellent electrochemical performance (current density of 650 mA cm-2 at 1.83 V) shows the best performance. Moreover, the performance of the synthesized composite diaphragm is significantly elevated compared to commercial diaphragms (Zirfon PERL), which is promising for practical application in alkaline electrolytic cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinghua Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Institute of Modern Catalysis, Department of Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, P. R. China
| | - Qingqing Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Institute of Modern Catalysis, Department of Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, P. R. China
| | - Wenli Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Institute of Modern Catalysis, Department of Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, P. R. China
| | - Yajie Dai
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Institute of Modern Catalysis, Department of Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, P. R. China
| | - Shuhuan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Institute of Modern Catalysis, Department of Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, P. R. China
| | - Fanghui Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Institute of Modern Catalysis, Department of Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, P. R. China
| | - Hong Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Institute of Modern Catalysis, Department of Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, P. R. China
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