Elucidation of Critical Catalyst Layer Phenomena toward High Production Rates for the Electrochemical Conversion of CO to Ethylene
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37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
Engineering topics
Simonson, Hunter
Publications and source records attributed to Simonson, Hunter.
Direct Measurement of Electrochemical Selectivity Gradients over a 25 cm 2 Copper Gas Diffusion Electrode
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37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
Liquid–Solid Boundaries Dominate Activity of CO 2 Reduction on Gas-Diffusion Electrodes
Electrochemical CO 2 electrolysis to produce hydrocarbon fuels or material feedstocks offers a renewable alternative to fossilized carbon sources. Gas-diffusion electrodes (GDEs), composed of solid electrocatalysts on porous supports positioned near the interface of a conducting electrolyte and CO 2 gas, have been able to demonstrate the substantial current densities needed for future commercialization. These higher reaction rates have often been ascribed to the presence of a three-phase interface, where solid, liquid, and gas provide electrons, water, and CO 2 , respectively. Conversely, mechanistic work on electrochemical reactions implicates a fully two-phase reaction interface, where gas molecules reach the electrocatalyst’s surface by dissolution and diffusion through the electrolyte. Because the discrepancy between an atomistic three-phase versus two-phase reaction has substantial implications for the design of catalysts, gas-diffusion layers, and cell architectures, the nuances of nomenclatures and governing phenomena surrounding the three-phase-region require clarification. In this paper we outline the macro, micro, and atomistic phenomena occurring within a gas-diffusion electrode to provide a focused discussion on the architecture of the often-discussed three-phase region for CO 2 electrolysis. From this information, we comment on the outlook for the broader CO 2 electroreduction GDE cell architecture.
CO2 reduction↗