Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2024, Vol. 59: 82-96.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(23)64636-4

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Construction of efficient and stable low-temperature reverse-bias bipolar membrane electrolyser for CO2 reduction

Yi Xiea, Zhanyou Xua, Qian Lua,b, Ying Wanga,*()   

  1. aDepartment of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China
    bJiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control, UNIST-NUIST Environment and Energy Jointed Laboratory, School of Environmental Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, Jiangsu, China
  • Received:2023-12-06 Accepted:2024-02-24 Online:2024-04-18 Published:2024-04-15
  • Contact: *E-mail: ying.b.wang@cuhk.edu.hk (Y. Wang).
  • About author:Ying Wang (Department of Chemistry, the Chinese University of Hong Kong.) Prof. Ying Wang completed the D.Phil degree in electrochemistry with Prof. Richard G. Compton at Oxford University. She worked as a postdoctoral research fellow in electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) with Prof. Thomas J Meyer at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Prof. Edward Sargent at the University of Toronto. She is now an assistant professor at the Department of Chemistry at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The Wang group at CUHK focuses on understanding electrode processes and electrochemical systems in electrocatalysis, especially for CO2RR.
  • Supported by:
    The Excellent Young Scientist Fund (Hong Kong and Macau) from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(22222208);Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region(14305323)

Abstract:

Electrochemical conversion of CO2 and H2O to value-added products is an attractive approach for sustainable chemical production. Significant progress has been made in the past few decades in improving activity and selectivity, advancing this technology to practical application. Considering the next step for the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction, improving carbon utilisation efficiency, stability, and energy efficiency are essential. Bipolar membrane (BPM)-based electrolysers, which allow electrodes to be operated under different pH, are advantageous to tackle the challenge mentioned above. Herein, we introduced the current status of CO2 electrolysers, followed by configuration, challenges, progress and outlook for combining reverse-bias BPM with different types of electrolysers. Our aim is to provide insight into developing carbon-efficient and energy-efficient CO2RR systems towards practical application.

Key words: Carbon dioxide reduction, Electrocatalysis, Bipolar membrane, Carbon utilisation, Energy efficiency