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A scalable membrane electrode assembly architecture for efficient electrochemical conversion of CO2 to formic acid

Author

Listed:
  • Leiming Hu

    (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

  • Jacob A. Wrubel

    (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

  • Carlos M. Baez-Cotto

    (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

  • Fry Intia

    (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

  • Jae Hyung Park

    (Argonne National Laboratory)

  • Arthur Jeremy Kropf

    (Argonne National Laboratory)

  • Nancy Kariuki

    (Argonne National Laboratory)

  • Zhe Huang

    (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

  • Ahmed Farghaly

    (Argonne National Laboratory)

  • Lynda Amichi

    (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)

  • Prantik Saha

    (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

  • Ling Tao

    (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

  • David A. Cullen

    (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)

  • Deborah J. Myers

    (Argonne National Laboratory)

  • Magali S. Ferrandon

    (Argonne National Laboratory)

  • K. C. Neyerlin

    (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

Abstract

The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide to formic acid is a promising pathway to improve CO2 utilization and has potential applications as a hydrogen storage medium. In this work, a zero-gap membrane electrode assembly architecture is developed for the direct electrochemical synthesis of formic acid from carbon dioxide. The key technological advancement is a perforated cation exchange membrane, which, when utilized in a forward bias bipolar membrane configuration, allows formic acid generated at the membrane interface to exit through the anode flow field at concentrations up to 0.25 M. Having no additional interlayer components between the anode and cathode this concept is positioned to leverage currently available materials and stack designs ubiquitous in fuel cell and H2 electrolysis, enabling a more rapid transition to scale and commercialization. The perforated cation exchange membrane configuration can achieve >75% Faradaic efficiency to formic acid at

Suggested Citation

  • Leiming Hu & Jacob A. Wrubel & Carlos M. Baez-Cotto & Fry Intia & Jae Hyung Park & Arthur Jeremy Kropf & Nancy Kariuki & Zhe Huang & Ahmed Farghaly & Lynda Amichi & Prantik Saha & Ling Tao & David A. , 2023. "A scalable membrane electrode assembly architecture for efficient electrochemical conversion of CO2 to formic acid," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-43409-6
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43409-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Alireza Rahimi & Arne Ulbrich & Joshua J. Coon & Shannon S. Stahl, 2014. "Formic-acid-induced depolymerization of oxidized lignin to aromatics," Nature, Nature, vol. 515(7526), pages 249-252, November.
    2. Chuan Xia & Peng Zhu & Qiu Jiang & Ying Pan & Wentao Liang & Eli Stavitski & Husam N. Alshareef & Haotian Wang, 2019. "Continuous production of pure liquid fuel solutions via electrocatalytic CO2 reduction using solid-electrolyte devices," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 4(9), pages 776-785, September.
    3. Haeun Shin & Kentaro U. Hansen & Feng Jiao, 2021. "Techno-economic assessment of low-temperature carbon dioxide electrolysis," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 4(10), pages 911-919, October.
    4. Lei Fan & Chuan Xia & Peng Zhu & Yingying Lu & Haotian Wang, 2020. "Electrochemical CO2 reduction to high-concentration pure formic acid solutions in an all-solid-state reactor," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-9, December.
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