Bubble Formation in the Electrolyte Triggers Voltage Instability in CO₂ Electrolyzers.

ABSTRACT: The electrochemical reduction of CO₂ is promising for mitigating anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions; however, voltage instabilities currently inhibit reaching high current densities that are prerequisite for commercialization. Here, for the first time, we elucidate that product gaseous bubble accumulation on the electrode/electrolyte interface is the direct cause of the voltage instability in CO₂ electrolyzers. Although bubble formation in water electrolyzers has been extensively studied, we identified that voltage instability caused by bubble formation is unique to CO₂ electrolyzers. The appearance of syngas bubbles within the electrolyte at the gas diffusion electrode (GDE)-electrolyte chamber interface (i.e. ∼10% bubble coverage of the GDE surface) w

SUBMITTER: Lee C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7214942 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature