Engineered Thin Diffusion Layers for Anion-Exchange Membrane Electrolyzer Cells with Outstanding Performance

Anion-exchange membrane electrolyzer cells (AEMECs) are one of the most promising technologies for carbon-neutral hydrogen production. Over the past few years, the performance and durability of AEMECs have substantially improved. Herein, we report an engineered liquid/gas diffusion layer (LGDL) with tunable pore morphologies that enables the high performance of AEMECs. The comparison with a commercial titanium foam in the electrolyzer indicated that the engineered LGDL with thin-flat and straight-pore structures significantly improved the interfacial contacts, mass transport, and activation of more reaction sites, leading to outstanding performance. We obtained a current density of 2.0 A/cm(2) at 1.80 V with an efficiency of up to 81.9% at 60 degrees C under 0.1 M NaOH-fed conditions. The as-achieved high performance in this study provides insight to design advanced LGDLs for the production of low-cost and high-efficiency AEMECs.

Automated summary

In this study, an engineered liquid/gas diffusion layer (LGDL) with tunable pore morphologies was reported to enable high performance of AEMECs. Compared to a commercial titanium foam, the engineered LGDL significantly improved interfacial contacts, mass transport, and activation of reaction sites in the electrolyzer, leading to outstanding performance. This study provides insight for designing advanced LGDLs for low-cost and high-efficiency AEMECs production.