Volume 2, 2024

Direction of oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalyst evaluation for an anion exchange membrane CO2 electrolyzer

Abstract

CO2 electrolysis in membrane-electrode assemblies (MEAs) has come up one step closer to commercialization through compact cell design and high-current operation. However, while both cathodic and anodic reactions significantly affect the overall cell efficiency, the anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) has received much less attention compared to the cathodic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). More importantly, OER electrocatalysts for CO2 electrolysis are being developed independently of system design, despite their interconnected nature. Since the aqueous testing systems in which OER electrocatalysts have been developed do not reflect the complex local anodic environment inside an anion exchange membrane CO2 electrolyzer (AEMCE), electrocatalysts sensitive to local chemistry may have been optimized for incorrect operating conditions. Based on a comprehensive understanding of the local anodic environment inside the AEMCE, in this perspective, we scrutinize the limitations of conventional OER electrocatalyst development resulting from the discrepancy between aqueous testing systems and the existing MEA-type systems. To bridge these gaps, we suggest three electrocatalyst evaluation platforms that integrate reference electrodes to existing AEMCEs for reliable and genuine OER electrocatalyst assessment.

Graphical abstract: Direction of oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalyst evaluation for an anion exchange membrane CO2 electrolyzer

Article information

Article type
Perspective
Submitted
22 12 2023
Accepted
19 2 2024
First published
21 2 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

EES. Catal., 2024,2, 911-922

Direction of oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalyst evaluation for an anion exchange membrane CO2 electrolyzer

S. Kwon, T. Kong, N. Park, P. Thangavel, H. Lee, S. Shin, J. Cha and Y. Kwon, EES. Catal., 2024, 2, 911 DOI: 10.1039/D3EY00314K

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements