Flow-through reactor for electrocatalytic reactions

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2019309425-A1
Application number	US-201815946424-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 5, 2018
Priority date	Apr 5, 2018
Publication date	Oct 10, 2019
Grant date	—

Abstract

A flow-through electrolysis cell includes a hierarchical nanoporous metal cathode. A method of reducing CO 2 includes flowing the CO 2 through the hierarchical nanoporous metal cathode of the flow-through electrolysis cell.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A flow-through electrolysis cell comprising:
a cathode comprising a hierarchical nanoporous metal; an anode comprising a metallic mesh; and an ion-exchange membrane; wherein the hierarchical nanoporous metal is a catalytic metal for reduction of a reactant which contacts the hierarchical nanoporous metal.

2 . The flow-through electrolysis cell of claim 1 , wherein the hierarchical nanoporous metal comprises one or more of copper, platinum, silver, gold, nickel, iron, and zinc.

3 . The flow-through electrolysis cell of claim 2 , wherein the hierarchical nanoporous metal is hierarchical nanoporous copper.

4 . The flow-through electrolysis cell of claim 1 , wherein the hierarchical nanoporous metal is a dealloyed metal alloy.

5 . The flow-through electrolysis cell of claim 3 , wherein the hierarchical nanoporous copper is a dealloyed aluminum-copper alloy.

6 . The flow-through electrolysis cell of claim 1 , wherein the hierarchical nanoporous metal comprises nanopores with an average diameter of about 10 nm to about 500 nm and macropores with an average diameter of about 500 nm to about 10 6 nm.

7 . The flow-through electrolysis cell of claim 1 , wherein the metallic mesh comprises one or more of platinum, palladium, carbon and boron-doped carbon/diamond.

8 . The flow-through electrolysis cell of claim 1 , wherein the reactant is CO 2 .

9 . The flow-through electrolysis cell of claim 1 , wherein the cathode comprises a first face and an opposite facing second face, the flow-through electrolysis cell further comprising a first electrolytic fluid input proximal to the first face and a first electrolytic fluid output proximal to the second face, such that the cell is configured to convey an electrolyte through the cathode.

10 . The flow-through electrolysis cell of claim 9 , wherein the electrolyte comprises CO 2 .

11 . The flow-through electrolysis cell of claim 9 , wherein the electrolyte is a KHCO 3 solution or a KH 2 PO 4 /K 2 HPO 4 buffer.

12 . The flow-through electrolysis cell of claim 11 , wherein the KH 2 PO 4 , K 2 HPO 4 , or KHCO 3 is present from 0.1 M to 5 M.

13 . The flow-through electrolysis cell of claim 1 , wherein the ion-exchange membrane is an anion exchange membrane.

14 . The flow-through electrolysis cell of claim 1 , wherein the ion-exchange membrane is a proton exchange membrane.

15 . A method of reducing CO 2 , the method comprising:
contacting CO 2 with a cathode housed in a flow-through electrolysis cell;
wherein the cathode comprises a hierarchical nanoporous metal;
wherein the flow-through electrolysis cell comprises an anode and an ion-exchange membrane, wherein the anode comprises a metallic mesh;
wherein the CO 2 is dissolved in an electrolyte; and
wherein contacting CO 2 with the cathode comprises flowing the electrolyte through the cathode.

16 . The method of claim 15 further comprising collecting a reduction product comprising a hydrocarbon, an aldehyde, an alcohol, a ketone, a carboxylic acid, or a mixture of any two or more thereof.

17 . The method of claim 15 further comprising collecting a reduction product comprising ethylene, methane, or a mixture thereof.

18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein flowing comprises applying a pressure gradient across the cathode.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the pressure gradient is from about 0.1 atm to about 10 atm.

20 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the electrolyte flows through the cathode at a velocity of less than about 1 cm/s.

Assignees

• L Livermore Nat Security Llc

Inventors

• Biener Monika M
• Biener Juergen
• Liang Siwei
• Qi Zhen
• Stadermann Michael
• Vedharathinam Vedasri

Classifications

• C25B15/08 Primary

  Supplying or removing reactants or electrolytes; Regeneration of electrolytes · CPC title

• C25B3/04

  Chemistry & Metallurgy · mapped topic

• C25B11/0415 Primary

  Chemistry & Metallurgy · mapped topic

• C25B11/035

  Chemistry & Metallurgy · mapped topic

• C25B11/0431

  Chemistry & Metallurgy · mapped topic