Non-invasive current collectors for improved current-density distribution during CO₂ electrolysis on super-hydrophobic electrodes

Electrochemical reduction of CO₂ presents an attractive way to store renewable energy in chemical bonds in a potentially carbon-neutral way. However, the available electrolyzers suffer from intrinsic problems, like flooding and salt accumulation, that must be overcome to industrialize the technology. To mitigate flooding and salt...

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,...

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,...