Title： |
Trilayer Polymer Electrolytes Enable Carbon-efficient CO2 to Multicarbon Product Conversion in Alkaline Electrolyzers |
Authors： |
Jundong Wang1,2, Yuesheng Zhang1,2, Haoxiang Bai1,2, Huiying Deng1,2, Binbin Pan1,2, Yanguang Li1,2, Yuhang Wang*1,2 |
Institutions： |
1Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Soochow University Suzhou215123, China 2Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Advanced Negative Carbon Technologies, Soochow University Suzhou215123, China |
Abstract： |
The electrochemical CO2reduction reaction (CO2RR) is an appealing method for carbon utilization. Alkaline CO2electrolyzers exhibit high CO2RR activity, low full-cell voltages, and cost-effectiveness. However, the issue of CO2loss caused by (bi)carbonate formation leads to excessive energy consumption, rendering the process economically impractical. In this study, we propose a trilayer polymer electrolyte (TPE) comprising a perforated anion exchange membrane (PAEM) and a bipolar membrane (BPM) to facilitate alkaline CO2RR. This TPE enables the coexistence of high alkalinity near the catalyst surface and the H+flux at the interface between the PAEM and the cation exchange layer (CEL) of the BPM, conditions favoring both CO2reduction to multicarbon products and (bi)carbonate removal in KOH-fed membrane electrode assembly (MEA) reactors. As a results, we achieve a Faradaic efficiency (FE) of approximately 46% for C2H4, corresponding to a C2+FE of 64% at 260 mA cm-2, with a CO2-to-C2H4single-pass conversion (SPC) of approximately 32% at 140 mA cm-2— nearly 1.3 times the limiting SPC in conventional AEM-MEA electrolyzers. Furthermore, coupling CO2reduction with formaldehyde oxidation reaction (FOR) in the TPE-MEA electrolyzer reduces the full-cell voltage to 2.3 V at 100 mA cm-2without compromising the C2H4FE. |
IF： |
16.1 |
Link： |
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ange.202404110 |
Editor: Guo Jia