Recently, Prof. Junliang Zhang’s research team from School of Mechanical Engineering in Shanghai Jiao Tong University published a research paper entitled‘Flow Field Design Matters for High Current Density Zero-Gap CO2 Electrolyzers’in ACS Energy Letters. Ph.D. student Shu Yuan and M.S. student Rongyi Wang are the co-first authors, Prof. Junliang Zhang, Prof. Shuiyun Shen, and Associate Prof. Xiaohui Yan are the corresponding authors.

Schematic design strategy for optimization of CO2 electrolyzer flow field

Electrochemical reduction of CO2 (CO2RR) to carbon-based value-added products while reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a promising technology. Among the various CO2RR technologies, electrochemical conversion of CO2 to CO has reached a stage where it can be industrially applied. Improving the current density and energy efficiency of CO2 electroreduction is essential to reduce the cost of CO2 electrolyzers and to facilitate scale-up applications.

Focusing on the CO2RR technology and the design of the “zero-gap CO2 electrolyzer”, this article elucidates the mechanism of the flow field on the performance of CO2 electrolysis. It points out the importance of the flow field on the water-gas transport process inside the CO2 electrolyzer under the industrial-relevant current density and operation condition. Through experiments and simulations to analyze the effects of different flow field configurations on the performance and durability of CO2 electrolyzers, the core design strategy for optimizing the flow field of CO2 electrolyzers is elucidated: i.e., improving the uniformity of the CO2 distribution, inhibiting CO2 starving transport while suppressing the drainage. Based on this design strategy, the article designs a simple and improved flow field, which improves the electrolysis performance by 43.5% compared to the conventional parallel flow field. This work illustrates the necessity of enhancing the study of the water-gas mass transport process in CO2 electrolyzers, which is instructive for the development of commercial CO2 electrolyzers in the future.

The research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and by the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Major Project.

Paper Link：https://doi.org/10.1021/acsenergylett.4c02534