Print Email Facebook Twitter Anion-exchange membranes with internal microchannels for water control in CO2 electrolysis Title Anion-exchange membranes with internal microchannels for water control in CO2 electrolysis Author Petrov, K.V. (TU Delft ChemE/Transport Phenomena) Bui, Justin C. (University of California) Baumgartner, L.M. (TU Delft ChemE/Transport Phenomena) Weng, Lien Chun (University of California) Dischinger, Sarah M. (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) Larson, David M. (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) Miller, Daniel J. (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) Weber, Adam Z. (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) Vermaas, D.A. (TU Delft ChemE/Transport Phenomena) Date 2022 Abstract Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2R) poses substantial promise to convert abundant feedstocks (water and CO2) to value-added chemicals and fuels using solely renewable energy. However, recent membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) devices that have been demonstrated to achieve high rates of CO2R are limited by water management within the cell, due to both consumption of water by the CO2R reaction and electro-osmotic fluxes that transport water from the cathode to the anode. Additionally, crossover of potassium (K+) ions poses concern at high current densities where saturation and precipitation of the salt ions can degrade cell performance. Herein, a device architecture incorporating an anion-exchange membrane (AEM) with internal water channels to mitigate MEA dehydration is proposed and demonstrated. A macroscale, two-dimensional continuum model is used to assess water fluxes and local water content within the modified MEA, as well as to determine the optimal channel geometry and composition. The modified AEMs are then fabricated and tested experimentally, demonstrating that the internal channels can both reduce K+ cation crossover as well as improve AEM conductivity and therefore overall cell performance. This work demonstrates the promise of these materials, and operando water-management strategies in general, in handling some of the major hurdles in the development of MEA devices for CO2R. To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:118ec9bd-0c83-4b82-8e0e-05622df0c0b1 DOI https://doi.org/10.1039/d2se00858k ISSN 2398-4902 Source Sustainable Energy & Fuels, 6 (22), 5077-5088 Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2022 K.V. Petrov, Justin C. Bui, L.M. Baumgartner, Lien Chun Weng, Sarah M. Dischinger, David M. Larson, Daniel J. Miller, Adam Z. Weber, D.A. Vermaas Files PDF d2se00858k.pdf 1.27 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:118ec9bd-0c83-4b82-8e0e-05622df0c0b1/datastream/OBJ/view