Effect of Dispersing Solvents for an Ionomer on the Performance of Copper Catalyst Layers for CO2 Electrolysis to Multicarbon Products
File version
Author(s)
Wu, Yuming
Duignan, Timothy
Li, Mengran
Cartmill, Hayden
Maglaya, Irving
Burdyny, Thomas
Wang, Geoff
Rufford, Thomas E
Griffith University Author(s)
Primary Supervisor
Other Supervisors
Editor(s)
Date
Size
File type(s)
Location
License
Abstract
To explore the effects of solvent-ionomer interactions in catalyst inks on the structure and performance of Cu catalyst layers (CLs) for CO2 electrolysis, we used a "like for like" rationale to select acetone and methanol as dispersion solvents with a distinct affinity for the ionomer backbone or sulfonated ionic heads, respectively, of the perfluorinated sulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomer Aquivion. First, we characterized the morphology and wettability of Aquivion films drop-cast from acetone- and methanol-based inks on flat Cu foils and glassy carbons. On a flat surface, the ionomer films cast from the Aquivion and acetone mixture were more continuous and hydrophobic than films cast from methanol-based inks. Our study's second stage compared the performance of Cu nanoparticle CLs prepared with acetone and methanol on gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) in a flow cell electrolyzer. The effects of the ionomer-solvent interaction led to a more uniform and flooding-tolerant GDE when acetone was the dispersion solvent (acetone-CL) than when we used methanol (methanol-CL). As a result, acetone-CL yielded a higher selectivity for CO2 electrolysis to C2+ products at high current density, up to 25% greater than methanol-CL at 500 mA cm-2. Ethylene was the primary product for both CLs, with a Faradaic efficiency for ethylene of 47.4 ± 4.0% on the acetone-CL and that of 37.6 ± 5.5% on the methanol-CL at a current density of 300 mA cm-2. We attribute the enhanced C2+ selectivity of the acetone-CL to this electrode's better resistance to electrolyte flooding, with zero seepage observed at tested current densities. Our findings reveal the critical role of solvent-ionomer interaction in determining the film structure and hydrophobicity, providing new insights into the CL design for enhanced multicarbon production in high current densities in CO2 electrolysis processes.
Journal Title
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Conference Title
Book Title
Edition
Volume
15
Issue
45
Thesis Type
Degree Program
School
Publisher link
Patent number
Funder(s)
Grant identifier(s)
Rights Statement
Rights Statement
Item Access Status
Note
Access the data
Related item(s)
Subject
Chemical sciences
Engineering
Physical sciences
Aquivion conformation
catalyst ink formulation
electrochemical CO2 reduction
perfluorinated sulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomer
solubility parameter
Persistent link to this record
Citation
Idros, MN; Wu, Y; Duignan, T; Li, M; Cartmill, H; Maglaya, I; Burdyny, T; Wang, G; Rufford, TE, Effect of Dispersing Solvents for an Ionomer on the Performance of Copper Catalyst Layers for CO2 Electrolysis to Multicarbon Products, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2023, 14 (45), pp. 52461-52472