Addressing the Challenge of Electrochemical Ionomer Oxidation in Future Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzers

Lim, Jihoon; Klein, Jeffrey Michael; Lee, Seung Geol; Park, Eun Joo; Kang, Sun Young; Maurya, Sandipkumar; Mustain, William E.; Boettcher, Shannon; Kim, Yu Seung

doi:10.1021/acsenergylett.4c00832

Addressing the Challenge of Electrochemical Ionomer Oxidation in Future Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzers

Journal Article · Sun Jun 02 00:00:00 EDT 2024 · ACS Energy Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acsenergylett.4c00832· OSTI ID:2480452

Lim, Jihoon ^[1]; ^[2]; ^[3]; ^[2]; ^[2]; ^[2]; ^[4]; Boettcher, Shannon ^[5]; ^[2]

Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan (Korea, Republic of); Pusan National Univ., Busan (Korea, Republic of)
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan (Korea, Republic of)
Univ. of South Carolina, Columbia, SC (United States)
University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Hydrogen production through anion-exchange membrane water electrolyzers (AEMWEs) offers cost advantages over proton-exchange membrane counterparts, mainly due to the good oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity of platinum-group-metal-free catalysts in alkaline environments. However, the electrochemical oxidation of ionomers at the OER catalyst interface can decrease the local electrode pH, which limits AEMWE performance. Various strategies at the single-cell-level have been explored to address this issue. Here, this work reviews the current understanding of electrochemical ionomer oxidation and strategies to mitigate it, providing our perspective on each approach. Our analysis highlights the competitive adsorption strategy as particularly promising for mitigating ionomer oxidation. This Perspective also outlines future directions for advancing high-performance alkaline AEMWEs and other energy devices using hydrocarbon ionomers.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF); US Department of Energy; USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Sustainable Transportation. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) (SC-ASCR); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-BES)

Grant/Contract Number:: 89233218CNA000001; AC02-05CH11231

OSTI ID:: 2480452

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2569639

Report Number(s):: LA-UR--24-27743

Journal Information:: ACS Energy Letters, Journal Name: ACS Energy Letters Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 9; ISSN 2380-8195

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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