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Highly quaternized polystyrene ionomers for high performance anion exchange membrane water electrolysers

Author

Listed:
  • Dongguo Li

    (Los Alamos National Laboratory)

  • Eun Joo Park

    (Los Alamos National Laboratory)

  • Wenlei Zhu

    (Washington State University)

  • Qiurong Shi

    (Washington State University)

  • Yang Zhou

    (Washington State University)

  • Hangyu Tian

    (Washington State University)

  • Yuehe Lin

    (Washington State University)

  • Alexey Serov

    (Pajarito Powder LLC)

  • Barr Zulevi

    (Pajarito Powder LLC)

  • Ehren Donel Baca

    (Sandia National Laboratories)

  • Cy Fujimoto

    (Sandia National Laboratories)

  • Hoon T. Chung

    (Los Alamos National Laboratory)

  • Yu Seung Kim

    (Los Alamos National Laboratory)

Abstract

Alkaline anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolysers to produce hydrogen from water are still at an early stage of development, and their performance is far lower than that of systems based on proton exchange membranes. Here, we report an ammonium-enriched anion exchange ionomer that improves the performance of an AEM electrolyser to levels approaching that of state-of-the-art proton exchange membrane electrolysers. Using rotating-disk electrode experiments, we show that a high pH (>13) in the electrode binder is the critical factor for improving the activity of the hydrogen- and oxygen-evolution reactions in AEM electrolysers. Based on this observation, we prepared and tested several quaternized polystyrene electrode binders in an AEM electrolyser. Using the binder with the highest ionic concentration and a NiFe oxygen evolution catalyst, we demonstrated performance of 2.7 A cm−2 at 1.8 V without a corrosive circulating alkaline solution. The limited durability of the AEM electrolyser remains a challenge to be addressed in the future.

Suggested Citation

  • Dongguo Li & Eun Joo Park & Wenlei Zhu & Qiurong Shi & Yang Zhou & Hangyu Tian & Yuehe Lin & Alexey Serov & Barr Zulevi & Ehren Donel Baca & Cy Fujimoto & Hoon T. Chung & Yu Seung Kim, 2020. "Highly quaternized polystyrene ionomers for high performance anion exchange membrane water electrolysers," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 5(5), pages 378-385, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natene:v:5:y:2020:i:5:d:10.1038_s41560-020-0577-x
    DOI: 10.1038/s41560-020-0577-x
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    Cited by:

    1. Wanjie Song & Kang Peng & Wei Xu & Xiang Liu & Huaqing Zhang & Xian Liang & Bangjiao Ye & Hongjun Zhang & Zhengjin Yang & Liang Wu & Xiaolin Ge & Tongwen Xu, 2023. "Upscaled production of an ultramicroporous anion-exchange membrane enables long-term operation in electrochemical energy devices," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    2. Yong Zuo & Sebastiano Bellani & Michele Ferri & Gabriele Saleh & Dipak V. Shinde & Marilena Isabella Zappia & Rosaria Brescia & Mirko Prato & Luca Trizio & Ivan Infante & Francesco Bonaccorso & Libera, 2023. "High-performance alkaline water electrolyzers based on Ru-perturbed Cu nanoplatelets cathode," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-15, December.

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