Journal
ENERGY & FUELS
Volume 35, Issue 23, Pages 19178-19184Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.1c01731
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Funding
- Natural Resources Canada's Energy Innovation Program [EIP2-MAT-001]
- Canadian Natural Science and Engineering Research Council [RGPIN-201806748]
- Canadian Foundation for Innovation [229288]
- Canadian Institute for Advanced Research [BSE-BERL162173]
- Canada Research Chairs
- Canada First Research Excellence Fund, Quantum Materials and Future Technologies Program
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This study demonstrates the significant impact of catalyst ink solvent on the performance and properties of spray-coated cathode gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs), with the choice of solvent influencing the faradaic efficiency for CO. The solvent used during catalyst deposition affects the surface area, hydrophobicity, and capillarity of GDE catalyst layers, and ethanol is shown to promote moderate ionomer aggregation and yield the highest performing GDEs.
Cathode gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) in CO2 electrolyzers facilitate reagent transport and the reduction of CO2 into chemicals and fuels. While GDEs are routinely leveraged to achieve high rates of product formation, design principles for high-performing cathodes have not yet been established. In this report, we demonstrate the influence of a central parameter in GDE fabrication, the catalyst ink solvent, on the properties and performance of spray-coated cathode GDEs. We show that the choice of solvent used during catalyst deposition impacts the faradaic efficiency for CO by as much as 50% at 200 mA cm(-2). Moreover, the solvent modulates the surface area, hydrophobicity, and capillarity of GDE catalyst layers. By measuring the hydrodynamic radii of catalyst inks, we conclude that solvent-mediated ionomer aggregation is a key factor that affects the microstructure and properties of GDE catalyst layers. We find that using ethanol as the ink solvent promotes moderate ionomer aggregation and yields the highest performing GDEs. This work describes the influence of electrode fabrication methodologies and demonstrates practical methods for preparing GDEs.
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