Energy Storage Science and Technology ›› 2020, Vol. 9 ›› Issue (6): 1691-1701.doi: 10.19799/j.cnki.2095-4239.2020.0167

• Energy Storage Materials and Devices • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Overview and prospect of studies on electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide electrolyzers

Yueyuan GU(), Jucai WEI, Jindong LI, Luyang WANG, Xu WU()   

  1. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, China
  • Received:2020-05-06 Revised:2020-06-15 Online:2020-11-05 Published:2020-10-28
  • Contact: Xu WU E-mail:d201677834@hust.edu.cn;pyofxuwu@hust.edu.cn

Abstract:

The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide can deal with the mismatch between the demand and the supply of renewable energy, such as solar energy, converting excess electrical energy into chemical storage with a high added value while reducing carbon dioxide emissions, and alleviating environmental pressure. H-type electrolytic cells have mostly been adopted in early research, and this is far from the industrial application of the carbon dioxide electrochemical reduction technology. H-cells are susceptible to mass transfer limitations and often have low current density. This study no longer focuses on the research and development of cathode catalysts, but on studies using a continuous carbon dioxide electrochemical reduction reactor. We introduce herein several types of reactor structure commonly used in the current research and discuss the components, operating conditions, possible optimization methods (e.g., novel gas diffusion electrode structure), failure mechanism of the electrolyzer, and possible repair methods. A direct comparison of the performances of the cathode catalyst would be impossible due to the difference in structure, composition, and operating parameters of the electrolyzers used in each study; therefore, the reference electrode should be a necessary part of a CO2 electrolyzer. The possible optimization methods of the carbon dioxide electrolyzer are as follows: ① preparation technology of the catalyst layer slurry and binder selection; ② preparation technology of the gas diffusion electrode and substrate selection; ③ development of a highly efficient and long-term stable polymer electrolyte membrane; and ④ optimization of the operating parameters.

Key words: carbon dioxide, electrochemical reduction, electrolytic reactor, failure mechanism

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