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Materials descriptors for advanced water dissociation catalysts in bipolar membranes

Journal Article · · Nature Materials
 [1];  [2];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [3];  [3];  [4]
  1. University of Oregon, Eugene, OR (United States)
  2. University of Oregon, Eugene, OR (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  3. North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC (United States)
  4. University of Oregon, Eugene, OR (United States); University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
The voltage penalty driving water dissociation (WD) at high current density is a major obstacle in the commercialization of bipolar membrane (BPM) technology for energy devices. Here, in this study, we show that three materials descriptors, that is, electrical conductivity, microscopic surface area and (nominal) surface-hydroxyl coverage, effectively control the kinetics of WD in BPMs. Using these descriptors and optimizing mass loading, we design new earth-abundant WD catalysts based on nanoparticle SnO2 synthesized at low temperature with high conductivity and hydroxyl coverage. These catalysts exhibit exceptional performance in a BPM electrolyser with low WD overvoltage (ηwd) of 100 ± 20 mV at 1.0 A cm-2. The new catalyst works equivalently well with hydrocarbon proton-exchange layers as it does with fluorocarbon-based Nafion, thus providing pathways to commercializing advanced BPMs for a broad array of electrolysis, fuel-cell and electrodialys is applications.
Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E); US Department of the Navy, Office of Naval Research (ONR)
Grant/Contract Number:
AR0001502; AR0001540; AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
2569640
Journal Information:
Nature Materials, Journal Name: Nature Materials Journal Issue: 10 Vol. 23; ISSN 1476-4660; ISSN 1476-1122
Publisher:
Springer NatureCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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