Electrochemical reduction of CO2 is a promising strategy to produce valuable chemical products while sequestering CO2 emissions that could potentially lead to carbon neutral energy cycles. To make this technology economically viable, electrochemical systems that facilitate reaction kinetics and high yields of CO2 reduction products is imperative. Membrane electrode assembly electrolyzers circumvent problems associated with low CO2 solubility in aqueous media and mass transport limitations by direct feeds of gaseous CO2 to the catalyst layer, which significantly outperforms the reaction rate of commonly used static H-cell configurations. However, removal of catholyte volume in a Membrane Electrode Assembly setup adversely affects make liquid product quantification. This work evaluated a method to facilitate liquid product collection and quantification for CO2 electrolysis using a membrane electrode assembly electrolyzer. To achieve this, a commercial double bubbler system was connected to the cathode side of the membrane electrode assembly gas stream. The double bubbler system was submerged in a water ice bath to increase the solubility of the products in water. Nuclear magnetic resonance analysis was used to confirm the collection of liquid CO2 reaction products. The output gas stream from the bubblers was connected to a gas chromatogram, which allowed subsequent collection and quantification of gas products. The results from this study provide a facile and adaptable method to quantify liquid products from diverse electrochemical reactions using a membrane electrode assembly electrolyzer.

Liquid product quantification for CO2 electroreduction in a membrane electrode assembly

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.