RII Track-2 FEC: Fundamental Insights into the Durability and Efficiencies of CO2 Electrolyzers

这项工作的目标是推进工业上可行的二氧化碳电解槽，并为可持续的化学制造发展多样化的劳动力。目前，洗涤剂、防冻剂和网球鞋等常见产品都是使用天然气或原油原料和不可再生能源制造的。1985年发现的一种新工艺表明，二氧化碳可以转化为这些产品所需的前体化学品；然而，这些费率和效率在经济上远远不可行。该项目的成果将揭示控制二氧化碳电解槽耐久性和效率的基础科学。这项工作对于提高美国最大制造业之一的可持续性至关重要。化学制造业为美国提供了超过25%的GDP和超过600万个就业岗位。这项工作对特拉华州和路易斯安那州的经济尤其重要，这两个州的化学制造业在制造业对州生产总值的贡献方面排名第一或第二。此外，该研究项目将直接涉及9名研究人员和70多名研究生和本科生以及领先化学品制造商的代表。计划开展其他外展活动，为特拉华州和路易斯安那州数千名K-12学生提供与STEM教育和职业相关的有意义的经验。该项目的技术成果将促进二氧化碳和水电解生产乙醇和乙烯。我们试图了解控制二氧化碳电解槽耐用性和效率的关键参数，包括管理故障的基础科学。我们的工作重点是两种类型的聚合物膜（阴离子和双极）以及铜、银和级联（分子+铜）电催化剂。研究目标分为：系统、材料和表征工作。系统的工作重点是电解槽的设计、集成和技术经济分析。材料研究的重点是聚合物膜和电催化剂的界面。表征工作的重点是原子和分子的相互作用，并将使用同步加速器源x射线，operando拉曼和相同位置隧道电子显微镜进行探测。这项工作的结果将揭示阴离子交换膜和双极膜方法如何影响长时间电解的反应行为和稳定性，故障是如何发生的，如何减轻故障（包括设计理想的界面）以及如何对有前途的电解槽材料进行加速测试。计划中的活动和合作将利用路易斯安那州立大学和特拉华大学这两所旗舰大学的独特优势，提高它们的研究能力。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The objective of this work is to advance industrially-viable CO2 electrolyzers and to develop a diverse workforce for sustainable chemical manufacturing. Currently, common products such as detergents, anti-freeze, and tennis shoes are made using natural gas or crude feedstocks and non-renewable energy. A new process, discovered in 1985, showed that CO2 could be converted into the precursor chemicals needed for these products; however, the rates and efficiencies were far from being economically viable. Outcomes from this project will reveal the fundamental science that controls durability and efficiency of CO2 electrolyzers. The work is critical to improve the sustainability of one of America’s largest manufacturing sectors. Chemical manufacturing is responsible for supporting over 25% of the GDP and over 6 million jobs in the US. The work is particularly important to the economies of Delaware and Louisiana where chemical manufacturing is ranked either first or second in terms of manufacturing’s contribution to gross state product. Further, this research project will directly engage a diverse group of 9 investigators and over 70 graduate and undergraduate students along with representatives from leading chemical manufacturers. Other outreach activities are planned to provide meaningful experiences related to STEM education and careers for thousands of K-12 students in Delaware and Louisiana. The technical outcomes from this project will advance electrolytic production of ethanol and ethylene from CO2 and H2O. We seek to understand critical parameters that control durability and efficiencies of CO2 electrolyzers including the underlying science that governs failures. Our work focuses on two types of polymeric membranes (anionic and bipolar) along with copper, silver and cascade (molecular + copper) electrocatalysts. Research aims are organized into: systems, materials and characterization efforts. The system work focuses on electrolyzer design, integration and technoeconomic analyses. The materials work focuses on interfaces of polymeric membranes and electrocatalysts. Characterization work focuses on atomic and molecular interactions and will be probed using synchrotron-source x-rays, operando Raman and identical location tunneling electron microscopy. Outcomes from the work would reveal how anionic exchange membrane and bipolar membrane approaches influence reaction behaviors and stability over long periods of electrolysis, how failures occur, how to mitigate failures (including designing ideal interfaces) and how to perform accelerated testing of promising electrolyzer materials. The planned activities and collaborations leverage unique strengths and improve the research capacities of two flagship universities: Louisiana State University and the University of Delaware.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.