A sodium-ion-conducted asymmetric electrolyzer to lower the operation voltage for direct seawater electrolysis

Hao Shi, Tanyuan Wang (), Jianyun Liu, Weiwei Chen, Shenzhou Li, Jiashun Liang, Shuxia Liu, Xuan Liu, Zhao Cai, Chao Wang, Dong Su, Yunhui Huang, Lior Elbaz and Qing Li ()
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Hao Shi: Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Tanyuan Wang: Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Jianyun Liu: Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Weiwei Chen: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Shenzhou Li: Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Jiashun Liang: Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Shuxia Liu: Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Xuan Liu: Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Zhao Cai: China University of Geosciences (Wuhan)
Chao Wang: Tongji University
Dong Su: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yunhui Huang: Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Lior Elbaz: Bar-Ilan University
Qing Li: Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Hydrogen produced from neutral seawater electrolysis faces many challenges including high energy consumption, the corrosion/side reactions caused by Cl-, and the blockage of active sites by Ca2+/Mg2+ precipitates. Herein, we design a pH-asymmetric electrolyzer with a Na+ exchange membrane for direct seawater electrolysis, which can simultaneously prevent Cl- corrosion and Ca2+/Mg2+ precipitation and harvest the chemical potentials between the different electrolytes to reduce the required voltage. In-situ Raman spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations reveal that water dissociation can be promoted with a catalyst based on atomically dispersed Pt anchored to Ni-Fe-P nanowires with a reduced energy barrier (by 0.26 eV), thus accelerating the hydrogen evolution kinetics in seawater. Consequently, the asymmetric electrolyzer exhibits current densities of 10 mA cm−2 and 100 mA cm−2 at voltages of 1.31 V and 1.46 V, respectively. It can also reach 400 mA cm−2 at a low voltage of 1.66 V at 80 °C, corresponding to the electricity cost of US$1.36 per kg of H2 ($0.031/kW h for the electricity bill), lower than the United States Department of Energy 2025 target (US$1.4 per kg of H2).

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39681-1

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