In situ investigation on ultrafast oxygen evolution reactions of water splitting in proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cells

Mo, Jingke; Kang, Zhenye; Yang, Gaoqiang; Li, Yifan; Retterer, Scott T.; Cullen, David A.; Toops, Todd J.; Bender, Guido; Pivovar, Bryan S.; Green Jr, Johney B.; Zhang, Feng-Yuan

doi:10.1039/C7TA05681H

Title: In situ investigation on ultrafast oxygen evolution reactions of water splitting in proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cells

Journal Article · 25 August 2017 · Journal of Materials Chemistry. A

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C7TA05681H · OSTI ID:1393373

^[1];

^[1]; Yang, Gaoqiang ^[1]; Li, Yifan ^[1]; Retterer, Scott T. ^[2]; Cullen, David A. ^[3]; Toops, Todd J. ^[4]; Bender, Guido ^[5]; Pivovar, Bryan S. ^[5];

^[6];

^[1]

Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tullahoma, TN (United States). Department of Mechanical, Aerospace & Biomedical Engineering, UT Space Institute
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Biosciences and Center for Nanophase Materials Science Divisions
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Materials Science and Technology Division
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Energy and Transportation Sciences Division
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States). Materials and Chemical Science and Technolog
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States). Mechanical and Thermal Engineering Sciences

We present that the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a half reaction in electrochemical devices, including low-temperature water electrolysis, which is considered as one of the most promising methods to generate hydrogen/oxygen for the storage of energy. It is affected by many factors, and its mechanism is still not completely understood. A proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cell (PEMEC) with optical access to the surface of anode catalyst layer (CL) coupled with a distinguished high-speed and micro-scale visualization system (HMVS) was developed to in situ investigate OERs. It was revealed in real time that OERs only occur on the anode CL adjacent to liquid/gas diffusion layer (LGDL). The CL electrical conductivity plays a crucial role in OERs on CLs. The large in-plane electrical resistance of CLs becomes a threshold of OERs over the entire CL, and causes a lot of catalyst waste in the middle of LGDL pores. Moreover, the oxygen bubble nucleation, growth, and detachment and the effect of current density on those processes were also characterized. Here, this study proposes a new approach for better understanding the mechanisms of OERs and optimizing the design and fabrication of membrane electrode assemblies.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Cite

Export

Save

Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308; FE0011585

OSTI ID:: 1393373

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA--5900-70048

Journal Information:: Journal of Materials Chemistry. A, Journal Name: Journal of Materials Chemistry. A Journal Issue: 35 Vol. 5; ISSN JMCAET; ISSN 2050-7488

Publisher:: Royal Society of ChemistryCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (46)

Vertically Oriented Polymer Electrolyte Nanofiber Catalyst Support for Thin Film Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Electrodes Babu, S. Komini; Atkinson, Robert W.; Papandrew, Alexander B. ChemElectroChem, Vol. 2, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1002/celc.201500232	journal	August 2015
Mathematical modeling of high-pressure PEM water electrolysis Grigoriev, S. A.; Kalinnikov, A. A.; Millet, P. Journal of Applied Electrochemistry, Vol. 40, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-009-0031-z	journal	November 2009
Design and performance of a solid polymer electrolyte water electrolyzer Millet, P. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 21, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/0360-3199(95)00005-4	journal	February 1996
Electrochemical activity of ruthenium and iridium based catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction Mamaca, N.; Mayousse, E.; Arrii-Clacens, S. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, Vol. 111-112 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2011.10.020	journal	January 2012
Bubble evolution on vertical electrodes under extreme current densities Wüthrich, R.; Comninellis, Ch.; Bleuler, H. Electrochimica Acta, Vol. 50, Issue 25-26 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2004.12.052	journal	September 2005
Study of IrxRu1−xO2 oxides as anodic electrocatalysts for solid polymer electrolyte water electrolysis Cheng, Jinbin; Zhang, Huamin; Chen, Guobao Electrochimica Acta, Vol. 54, Issue 26 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2009.05.090	journal	November 2009
Iridium–ruthenium single phase mixed oxides for oxygen evolution: Composition dependence of electrocatalytic activity Owe, Lars-Erik; Tsypkin, Mikhail; Wallwork, Kia S. Electrochimica Acta, Vol. 70 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2012.03.041	journal	May 2012
Effects of membrane electrode assembly properties on two-phase transport and performance in proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cells Han, Bo; Mo, Jingke; Kang, Zhenye Electrochimica Acta, Vol. 188 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2015.11.139	journal	January 2016
Pure hydrogen production by PEM electrolysis for hydrogen energy Grigoriev, S.; Porembsky, V.; Fateev, V. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 31, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2005.04.038	journal	February 2006
Numerical modeling of three-dimensional two-phase gas–liquid flow in the flow field plate of a PEM electrolysis cell Nie, Jianhu; Chen, Yitung International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 35, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2010.01.050	journal	April 2010
Evaluation and calculation on the efficiency of a water electrolysis system for hydrogen production Zhang, Houcheng; Lin, Guoxing; Chen, Jincan International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 35, Issue 20 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2010.07.088	journal	October 2010
A comprehensive review on PEM water electrolysis Carmo, Marcelo; Fritz, David L.; Mergel, Jürgen International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 38, Issue 12, p. 4901-4934 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2013.01.151	journal	April 2013
Two-phase flow in a proton exchange membrane electrolyzer visualized in situ by simultaneous neutron radiography and optical imaging Selamet, O. F.; Pasaogullari, U.; Spernjak, D. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 38, Issue 14 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2013.02.087	journal	May 2013
Electrochemical performance modeling of a proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cell for hydrogen energy Han, Bo; Steen, Stuart M.; Mo, Jingke International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 40, Issue 22 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.03.164	journal	June 2015
Electrochemical investigation of stainless steel corrosion in a proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cell Mo, Jingke; Steen, Stuart M.; Zhang, Feng-Yuan International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 40, Issue 36 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.07.061	journal	September 2015
Modelling and simulation of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser cell Abdin, Z.; Webb, C. J.; Gray, E. MacA. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 40, Issue 39 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.07.129	journal	October 2015
Additive manufacturing of liquid/gas diffusion layers for low-cost and high-efficiency hydrogen production Mo, Jingke; Dehoff, Ryan R.; Peter, William H. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 41, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.12.111	journal	January 2016
Additive manufactured bipolar plate for high-efficiency hydrogen production in proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cells Yang, Gaoqiang; Mo, Jingke; Kang, Zhenye International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 42, Issue 21 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.04.100	journal	May 2017
Performance of a metallic gas diffusion layer for PEM fuel cells Zhang, Feng-Yuan; Advani, Suresh G.; Prasad, Ajay K. Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 176, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2007.10.055	journal	January 2008
PEM electrolysis for production of hydrogen from renewable energy sources Barbir, Frano Solar Energy, Vol. 78, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2004.09.003	journal	May 2005
Direct Visualization of Solid Electrolyte Interphase Formation in Lithium-Ion Batteries with In Situ Electrochemical Transmission Electron Microscopy Unocic, Raymond R.; Sun, Xiao-Guang; Sacci, Robert L. Microscopy and Microanalysis, Vol. 20, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1017/S1431927614012744	journal	July 2014
A New Class of Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Production from Water Electrolysis: Metal Monolayers Supported on Low-Cost Transition Metal Carbides Esposito, Daniel V.; Hunt, Sean T.; Kimmel, Yannick C. Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 134, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1021/ja208656v	journal	February 2012
A selective and efficient electrocatalyst for carbon dioxide reduction Lu, Qi; Rosen, Jonathan; Zhou, Yang Nature Communications, Vol. 5, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms4242	journal	January 2014
Non-precious metal electrocatalysts with high activity for hydrogen oxidation reaction in alkaline electrolytes Sheng, Wenchao; Bivens, Adam P.; Myint, MyatNoeZin Energy Environ. Sci., Vol. 7, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1039/C3EE43899F	journal	January 2014
Enhanced photoelectrochemical water-splitting performance of semiconductors by surface passivation layers Liu, Rui; Zheng, Zhi; Spurgeon, Joshua Energy Environ. Sci., Vol. 7, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1039/C4EE00450G	journal	January 2014
Toward the rational design of non-precious transition metal oxides for oxygen electrocatalysis Hong, Wesley T.; Risch, Marcel; Stoerzinger, Kelsey A. Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 8, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1039/C4EE03869J	journal	January 2015
3-Dimensional porous N-doped graphene foam as a non-precious catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction Zhou, Xuejun; Bai, Zhengyu; Wu, Mingjie Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Vol. 3, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1039/C4TA06538G	journal	January 2015
A comparative technoeconomic analysis of renewable hydrogen production using solar energy Shaner, Matthew R.; Atwater, Harry A.; Lewis, Nathan S. Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 9, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1039/C5EE02573G	journal	January 2016
Band engineering of perovskite-type transition metal oxynitrides for photocatalytic overall water splitting Pan, Chengsi; Takata, Tsuyoshi; Kumamoto, Kazunori Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Vol. 4, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1039/C5TA10612E	journal	January 2016
Rapid prototyping of electrolyzer flow field plates Hudkins, Jesse R.; Wheeler, Danika G.; Peña, Bruno Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 9, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1039/C6EE01997H	journal	January 2016
Investigation of thin/well-tunable liquid/gas diffusion layers exhibiting superior multifunctional performance in low-temperature electrolytic water splitting Kang, Zhenye; Mo, Jingke; Yang, Gaoqiang Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 10, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1039/C6EE02368A	journal	January 2017
Nanostructured catalysts for electrochemical water splitting: current state and prospects Li, Xiumin; Hao, Xiaogang; Abudula, Abuliti Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Vol. 4, Issue 31 https://doi.org/10.1039/C6TA02334G	journal	January 2016
A review on noble-metal-free bifunctional heterogeneous catalysts for overall electrochemical water splitting Yan, Ya; Xia, Bao Yu; Zhao, Bin Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Vol. 4, Issue 45 https://doi.org/10.1039/C6TA08075H	journal	January 2016
Highly efficient high temperature electrolysis Hauch, Anne; Ebbesen, Sune Dalgaard; Jensen, Søren Højgaard Journal of Materials Chemistry, Vol. 18, Issue 20 https://doi.org/10.1039/b718822f	journal	January 2008
Monolayer platinum supported on tungsten carbides as low-cost electrocatalysts: opportunities and limitations Esposito, Daniel V.; Chen, Jingguang G. Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 4, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1039/c1ee01851e	journal	January 2011
High performance robust F-doped tin oxide based oxygen evolution electro-catalysts for PEM based water electrolysis Datta, Moni Kanchan; Kadakia, Karan; Velikokhatnyi, Oleg I. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Vol. 1, Issue 12, p. 4026-4037 https://doi.org/10.1039/c3ta01458d	journal	January 2013
The fundamentals of bubble evolution Lubetkin, S. D. Chemical Society Reviews, Vol. 24, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1039/cs9952400243	journal	January 1995
Investigation of a copper etching technique to fabricate metallic gas diffusion media Zhang, Feng-Yuan; Prasad, Ajay K.; Advani, Suresh G. Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, Vol. 16, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1088/0960-1317/16/11/N02	journal	September 2006
Discovery of true electrochemical reactions for ultrahigh catalyst mass activity in water splitting Mo, Jingke; Kang, Zhenye; Retterer, Scott T. Science Advances, Vol. 2, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1600690	journal	November 2016
Just a Dream—or Future Reality? Gasteiger, Hubert A.; Marković, Nenad M Science, Vol. 324, Issue 5923, p. 48-49 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1172083	journal	April 2009
Mask-Patterned Wet Etching of Thin Titanium Liquid/Gas Diffusion Layers for a PEMEC Mo, J.; Steen, S. M.; Retterer, S. ECS Transactions, Vol. 66, Issue 24 https://doi.org/10.1149/06624.0003ecst	journal	August 2015
The Air/Platinum/Nafion Triple-Phase Boundary: Characteristics, Scaling, and Implications for Fuel Cells O’Hayre, Ryan; Prinz, Fritz B. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 151, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1149/1.1701868	journal	January 2004
Visualization of Liquid Water Transport in a PEFC Yang, X. G.; Zhang, F. Y.; Lubawy, A. L. Electrochemical and Solid-State Letters, Vol. 7, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1149/1.1803051	journal	January 2004
Liquid Water Removal from a Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Zhang, F. Y.; Yang, X. G.; Wang, C. Y. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 153, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1149/1.2138675	journal	January 2006
In Situ Characterization of the Catalyst Layer in a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Zhang, Feng-Yuan; Spernjak, Dusan; Prasad, Ajay K. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 154, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1149/1.2777987	journal	January 2007
Initial Performance and Durability of Ultra-Low Loaded NSTF Electrodes for PEM Electrolyzers Debe, M. K.; Hendricks, S. M.; Vernstrom, G. D. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 159, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1149/2.065206jes	journal	January 2012

Cited By (9)

Hierarchically Structured Porous Transport Layers for Polymer Electrolyte Water Electrolysis Schuler, Tobias; Ciccone, Joseph M.; Krentscher, Bernd Advanced Energy Materials, Vol. 10, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201903216	journal	November 2019
In situ mapping of activity distribution and oxygen evolution reaction in vanadium flow batteries Ma, Kaijie; Zhang, Yunong; Liu, Le Nature Communications, Vol. 10, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-13147-9	journal	November 2019
An ultrathin cobalt-based zeolitic imidazolate framework nanosheet array with a strong synergistic effect towards the efficient oxygen evolution reaction Cao, Junhui; Lei, Chaojun; Yang, Jian Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Vol. 6, Issue 39 https://doi.org/10.1039/c8ta08337a	journal	January 2018
Analytical electrolyzer enabling operando characterization of flow plates Wheeler, Danika G.; Virca, Carolyn N.; Berlinguette, Curtis P. Review of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 90, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5053600	journal	July 2019
A Porous FeCuNi-Based Electrocatalyst Supported by Nickel Foam for Oxygen Evolution Reaction in Alkaline Conditions Dong, Yongzhi; Sun, Fengke; Li, Xi Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 165, Issue 14 https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0061814jes	journal	January 2018
Polymer Electrolyte Water Electrolysis: Correlating Porous Transport Layer Structural Properties and Performance: Part I. Tomographic Analysis of Morphology and Topology Schuler, Tobias; De Bruycker, Ruben; Schmidt, Thomas J. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 166, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0561904jes	journal	January 2019
Polymer Electrolyte Water Electrolysis: Correlating Performance and Porous Transport Layer Structure: Part II. Electrochemical Performance Analysis Schuler, Tobias; Schmidt, Thomas J.; Büchi, Felix N. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 166, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1149/2.1241908jes	journal	January 2019
Polymer Electrolyte Water Electrolysis: Correlating Porous Transport Layer Structural Properties and Performance: Part I. Tomographic Analysis of Morphology and Topology Schuler, Tobias; De Bruycker, Ruben; Schmidt, Thomas J. ETH Zurich https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000331217	text	January 2019
Polymer Electrolyte Water Electrolysis: Correlating Performance and Porous Transport Layer Structure: Part II. Electrochemical Performance Analysis Tobias, Schuler,; J., Schmidt, Thomas; N., Büchi, Felix ETH Zurich https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000345474	text	January 2019

Similar Records

Experimental studies on the effects of sheet resistance and wettability of catalyst layer on electro-catalytic activities for oxygen evolution reaction in proton exchange membrane electrolysis cells

Journal Article · 2020 · International Journal of Hydrogen Energy · OSTI ID:1660244

Mo, Jingke; Yang, Gaoqiang; Li, Yifan; +5 more

Discovery of true electrochemical reactions for ultrahigh catalyst mass activity in water splitting

Journal Article · 2016 · Science Advances · OSTI ID:1334398

Mo, Jingke; Kang, Zhenye; Retterer, Scott T.; +5 more

Study on corrosion migrations within catalyst-coated membranes of proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cells

Journal Article · 2017 · International Journal of Hydrogen Energy · OSTI ID:1399350

Mo, Jingke; Steen, Stuart; Kang, Zhenye; +9 more

Related Subjects

25 ENERGY STORAGE
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
electrochemical devices
energy storage

Title: In situ investigation on ultrafast oxygen evolution reactions of water splitting in proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cells

Citation Formats

References (46)

Cited By (9)

Similar Records

Related Subjects