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Kong Y, Liu M, Hu H, Hou Y, Vesztergom S, Gálvez-Vázquez MDJ, Zelocualtecatl Montiel I, Kolivoška V, Broekmann P. Cracks as Efficient Tools to Mitigate Flooding in Gas Diffusion Electrodes Used for the Electrochemical Reduction of Carbon Dioxide. Small Methods 2022; 6:e2200369. [PMID: 35810472 DOI: 10.1002/smtd.202200369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2022] [Revised: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The advantage of employing gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) in carbon dioxide reduction electrolyzers is that they allow CO2 to reach the catalyst in gaseous state, enabling current densities that are orders of magnitude larger than what is achievable in standard H-type cells. The gain in the reaction rate comes, however, at the cost of stability issues related to flooding that occurs when excess electrolyte permeates the micropores of the GDE, effectively blocking the access of CO2 to the catalyst. For electrolyzers operated with alkaline electrolytes, flooding leaves clear traces within the GDE in the form of precipitated potassium (hydrogen)carbonates. By analyzing the amount and distribution of precipitates, and by quantifying potassium salts transported through the GDE during operation (electrolyte perspiration), important information can be gained with regard to the extent and means of flooding. In this work, a novel combination of energy dispersive X-ray and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry based methods is employed to study flooding-related phenomena in GDEs differing in the abundance of cracks in the microporous layer. It is concluded that cracks play an important role in the electrolyte management of CO2 electrolyzers, and that electrolyte perspiration through cracks is paramount in avoiding flooding-related performance drops.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Kong
- Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
- National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Catalysis, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Menglong Liu
- Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
- National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Catalysis, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Huifang Hu
- Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Yuhui Hou
- Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
- National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Catalysis, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Soma Vesztergom
- Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
- Department of Physical Chemistry, Eötvös Loránd University, 1117, Budapest, Hungary
| | | | - Iván Zelocualtecatl Montiel
- Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Viliam Kolivoška
- J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 18223, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Peter Broekmann
- Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
- National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Catalysis, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
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de Jesus Gálvez-Vázquez M, Moreno-García P, Xu H, Hou Y, Hu H, Montiel IZ, Rudnev AV, Alinejad S, Grozovski V, Wiley BJ, Arenz M, Broekmann P. Environment Matters: CO2RR Electrocatalyst Performance Testing in a Gas-Fed Zero-Gap Electrolyzer. ACS Catal 2020. [DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.0c03609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Pavel Moreno-García
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bern, Freiestrasse 3, Bern 3012, Switzerland
| | - Heng Xu
- Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708-0354, United States
| | - Yuhui Hou
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bern, Freiestrasse 3, Bern 3012, Switzerland
| | - Huifang Hu
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bern, Freiestrasse 3, Bern 3012, Switzerland
| | | | - Alexander V. Rudnev
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bern, Freiestrasse 3, Bern 3012, Switzerland
- A.N. Frumkin Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskii pr. 31, Moscow 119071, Russia
| | - Shima Alinejad
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bern, Freiestrasse 3, Bern 3012, Switzerland
| | - Vitali Grozovski
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bern, Freiestrasse 3, Bern 3012, Switzerland
| | - Benjamin J. Wiley
- Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708-0354, United States
| | - Matthias Arenz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bern, Freiestrasse 3, Bern 3012, Switzerland
| | - Peter Broekmann
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bern, Freiestrasse 3, Bern 3012, Switzerland
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