Electrode catalyst layer for carbon dioxide electrolysis cell, electrolysis cell and carbon dioxide electrolysis apparatus comprising the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2020270756-A1
Application number	US-201916563546-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Sep 6, 2019
Priority date	Feb 21, 2019
Publication date	Aug 27, 2020
Grant date	—

Abstract

The embodiments provide an electrode catalyst layer for an electrolysis cell, and also an electrolysis cell and a carbon dioxide electrolysis apparatus comprising that layer. The catalyst layer has a controlled porous structure, and can realize a high partial current density. The catalyst layer of the embodiment comprises carbonous catalyst carriers, a metallic catalyst loaded on the carriers, and an ion-conductive material. The catalyst layer contains pores of 5 to 200 μm diameters, and the pores have a volume per weight of the catalyst layer in the range of 3.0 to 10 mL/g in total.

First claim

1 . An electrode catalyst layer for a carbon dioxide electrolysis cell comprising:
carbonous catalyst carriers, a metallic catalyst loaded on said carriers, and an ion-conductive material;
wherein said catalyst layer has a porous structure and contains pores of 5 to 200 μm diameters measured by a mercury injection method, and a volume of said pores per weight of said catalyst layer is 3.0 to 10 mL/g.

2 . The catalyst layer according to claim 1 , wherein the pore-diameter distribution measured by a mercury injection method shows the highest peak of frequency distribution in the diameter range of 5 to 200 μm provided that the diameter and the logarithmic differential pore volume are plotted on the horizontal and vertical axes, respectively.

3 . The catalyst layer according to claim 1 , containing secondary particles which are formed by said catalyst carriers and which have a mean particle diameter of 5 to 50 μm.

4 . The catalyst layer according to claim 1 , having a thickness of 5 to 200 μm.

5 . The catalyst layer according to claim 1 , having a weight per area of 0.1 to 10 mg/cm 2 .

6 . The catalyst layer according to claim 1 , wherein said catalyst carriers have at least one structure selected from the group consisting of carbon particles, carbon nanotubes and graphenes.

7 . The catalyst layer according to claim 1 , wherein said metallic catalyst is at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Au, Ag, Cu, Pt, Pd, Ni, Co, Fe, Mn, Ti, Cd, Zn, In, Ga, Pb and Sn, and said metal has at least one structure selected from the group consisting of nanoparticles, nanostructures or nanowires.

8 . The catalyst layer according to claim 1 , wherein said nanoparticles have a mean diameter of 1 to 15 nm.

9 . The catalyst layer according to claim 1 , wherein said metallic catalyst has a weight per area of 0.01 to 5 mg/cm 2 .

10 . The catalyst layer according to claim 1 , wherein said ion-conductive material is an anion-exchange resin or a cation exchange resin.

11 . An electrolysis cell comprising:
an anode unit having an anode which oxidizes water or hydroxy ions into oxygen, and an anode solution-flow path through which an anode solution is supplied to said anode; a cathode unit having a cathode which is equipped with the catalyst layer according claim 1 and which reduces carbon dioxide into a carbon compound, and a gas-flow path through which carbon dioxide is supplied to said cathode; and a separator separating said anode unit and said cathode unit from each other.

12 . The electrolysis cell according to claim 11 , wherein said anode and cathode solutions contain at least one selected from the group consisting of hydroxy ion, hydrogen ion, potassium ion, sodium ion, lithium ion, chloride ion, bromide ion, iodide ion, nitrate ion, sulfate ion, phosphate ion, borate ion, and hydrogen carbonate ion.

13 . The electrolysis cell according to claim 11 , wherein said separator is at least one selected from the group consisting of a cation exchange membrane, an anion exchange membrane and a porous membrane.

14 . A carbon dioxide electrolysis apparatus comprising: the electrolysis cell according to claim 11 , and an electric power unit supplying electric currents to between said anode and said cathode in said cell.

15 . An electrolysis cell comprising
an anode unit having an anode which oxidizes water or hydroxy ions into oxygen, and an anode solution-flow path through which an anode solution is supplied to said anode; a cathode unit having a cathode which is equipped with the catalyst layer according to claim 1 and which reduces carbon dioxide into a carbon compound, a cathode solution-flow path through which a cathode solution is supplied to said cathode, and a gas-flow path through which carbon dioxide is supplied to said cathode; and a separator separating said anode unit and said cathode unit from each other; provided that said anode is so placed between said separator and said anode solution-flow path as to be in contact with them.

16 . The electrolysis cell according to claim 15 , wherein
said cathode is so placed between said cathode solution-flow path and said gas-flow path as to be in contact with them, and said cathode solution-flow path is so placed between said separator and said cathode as to be in contact with them.

17 . The electrolysis cell according to claim 15 , wherein said anode and cathode solutions contain at least one selected from the group consisting of hydroxy ion, hydrogen ion, potassium ion, sodium ion, lithium ion, chloride ion, bromide ion, iodide ion, nitrate ion, sulfate ion, phosphate ion, borate ion, and hydrogen carbonate ion.

18 . The electrolysis cell according to claim 15 , wherein said separator is at least one selected from the group consisting of a cation exchange membrane, an anion exchange membrane and a porous membrane.

19 . A carbon dioxide electrolysis apparatus comprising: the electrolysis cell according to claim 15 , and an electric power unit supplying electric currents to between said anode and said cathode in said cell.

Assignees

• Toshiba Kk

Inventors

• Kofuji Yusuke
• Ono Akihiko
• Kudo Yuki
• MOTOSHIGE Asahi
• Yamagiwa Masakazu
• Sugano Yoshitsune
• Mikoshiba Satoshi
• Kitagawa Ryota

Classifications

• C25B11/051 Primary

  Electrodes formed of electrocatalysts on a substrate or carrier · CPC title

• C25B3/25

  Reduction · CPC title

• C25B9/19

  with diaphragms · CPC title

• C25B3/23

  Oxidation (halogenation C25B3/27) · CPC title

• C25B11/061

  Metal or alloy · CPC title