Effect of Dispersing Solvents for an Ionomer on the Performance of Copper Catalyst Layers for CO₂ Electrolysis to Multicarbon Products

To explore the effects of solvent-ionomer interactions in catalyst inks on the structure and performance of Cu catalyst layers (CLs) for CO₂ electrolysis, we used a “like for like” rationale to select acetone and methanol as dispersion solvents with a distinct affinity for the ionomer backbone or sulfonated ionic heads,...

Electrochemical CO₂ reduction in membrane-electrode assemblies

Electrochemical conversion of gaseous CO₂ to value-added products and fuels is a promising approach to achieve net-zero CO₂ emission energy systems. Significant efforts have been achieved in the design and synthesis of highly active and selective electrocatalysts for this reaction and their reaction mechanism. To perform...

Mitigating Electrolyte Flooding for Electrochemical CO₂Reduction via Infiltration of Hydrophobic Particles in a Gas Diffusion Layer

Achieving operational stability at high current densities remains a challenge in CO2 electrolyzers due to flooding of the gas diffusion layer (GDL) that supports the electrocatalyst. We mitigated electrode flooding at high current densities using a vacuum-assisted infiltration method to embed 200-400 nm-sized polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)...

The role of electrode wettability in electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide

The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂RR) requires access to ample gaseous CO₂and liquid water to fuel reactions at high current densities for industrial-scale applications. Substantial improvement of the CO₂RR rate has largely arisen from positioning the catalyst close to gas-liquid interfaces,...

Cascade CO₂ electroreduction enables efficient carbonate-free production of ethylene

CO ₂ electroreduction offers a route to net-zero-emission production of C ₂H ₄—the most-produced organic compound. However, the formation of carbonate in this process causes loss of CO ₂ and a severe energy consumption/production penalty. Dividing the CO ₂-to-C ₂H ₄...

Copper adparticle enabled selective electrosynthesis of n-propanol

The electrochemical reduction of carbon monoxide is a promising approach for the renewable production of carbon-based fuels and chemicals. Copper shows activity toward multi-carbon products from CO reduction, with reaction selectivity favoring two-carbon products; however, efficient conversion of CO to higher carbon products such as n...