Catalyst-ionomer systems and methods for gas-phase electrolysis

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2022396889-A1
Application number	US-202017773920-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 3, 2020
Priority date	Nov 4, 2019
Publication date	Dec 15, 2022
Grant date	—

Abstract

The disclosure provides in its first aspect a catalyst system for gas-phase electrolysis of a reactant gas to form a product in an aqueous medium, the catalyst system comprising a catalytic material; an ion-conducting polymer layer provided on the catalytic material and comprising an ion-conducting polymer that includes hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups. Said catalyst system is remarkable in that the ion-conducting polymer layer has a thickness of 2 nm to 50 nm measured by transmission-electron microscopy. In its second aspect, the disclosure provides a method of manufacturing a catalyst system for gas-phase electrolysis of reactant gas to produce a product in an aqueous medium preferably according to the first aspect. The use of the catalyst system in accordance with the first aspect in the electrochemical production of at least one multi-carbon compound from a carbon-containing gas or of at least one product from a reactant gas is also disclosed.

First claim

1 - 38 . (canceled)

39 . A catalyst system for gas-phase electrolysis of a reactant gas to form a product in an aqueous medium, the catalyst system comprising:
a catalytic material comprising a catalytic metal or carbon, the catalytic material being a CO 2 reduction reaction catalyst or a CO reduction reaction catalyst; and one ion-conducting polymer layer provided on the catalytic material wherein the catalytic metal comprises Cu, Ag, Pd, or Pd doped with Ag; comprising an ion-conducting polymer that includes hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups, and wherein the ion-conducting polymer layer has a thickness of 2 nm to 50 nm as measured by transmission-electron microscopy; wherein the ion-conducting polymer layer is homogeneous over the catalyst material and wherein the ion-conducting polymer comprises an ionomer with a backbone that comprises the hydrophobic groups and side chains that comprise the hydrophilic groups, wherein the hydrophilic groups comprise sulfonic acid groups.

40 . The catalyst system according to claim 39 , wherein the ion-conducting polymer layer is an ion-conducting polymer layer provided on the catalytic material and comprising an ion-conducting polymer that includes hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups, wherein the ion-conducting polymer layer has a morphology with separate hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains that form differentiated gas and ion transport routes.

41 . The catalyst system according to claim 39 , wherein the catalytic material is doped with a dopant comprising an oxide, a halide, a telluride, a chalcogenide, a hydroxide, an oxyhydroxide, a nitrate, a silicide, or a combination thereof.

42 . The catalyst system according to claim 39 , wherein the catalytic material comprises Bi, Al, Sn, Pb, Au, Cf, Ru, Rh, Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo, W, Mn, Te, Re, Fe, Ru, Os, Co Ir, Ni, Zn, Cd, Hg, Ge, Si, or a combination thereof.

43 . The catalyst system according to claim 39 , wherein the catalytic material is or is comprised in a layer deposited on a gas-diffusion membrane.

44 . The catalyst system according to claim 39 , wherein the ion-conducting polymer comprises a perfluorinated sulfonic acid ionomer or an ionene.

45 . The catalyst system according to claim 39 , wherein the hydrophobic groups comprise halogenated groups.

46 . The catalyst system according to claim 39 , characterized in that the ion-conducting polymer layer is one or more spray-coated layers or one more coated layers formed by the ion-conducting polymer directly onto an outer surface of the catalytic material.

47 . The catalyst system according to claim 39 , wherein at least a part of the catalytic material is in the form of a plurality of particles and the on-conducting polymer layer is provided around the catalytic material particles, thereby providing a plurality of catalyst-polymer particles.

48 . The catalyst system according to claim 47 , wherein the catalyst system comprises a catalyst-ionomer bulk heterojunction (CIBH) and the CIBH is disposed on a gas-diffusion membrane.

49 . The catalyst system according to claim 47 , wherein a part of said catalytic material is in the form of a layer and wherein said catalyst system comprises a catalyst-ionomer bulk heterojunction (CIBH) disposed on the catalytic material layer.

50 . The catalyst system according to claim 47 , wherein the catalyst system comprises at least two ion-conducting polymer layers and wherein at least one ion-conducting polymer layer is comprised in the catalyst-ionomer bulk heterojunction (CIBH) and wherein the CIBH is disposed on an ion-conducting polymer layer.

51 . The catalyst system according to claim 47 , wherein a part of said catalytic material is in the form of a layer, wherein the catalyst system comprises at least two ion-conducting polymer layers and wherein at least one conducting polymer layer is comprised in a catalyst-ionomer bulk heterojunction (CIBH) and wherein an ion-conducting polymer layer is disposed between the CIBH and the catalytic material layer.

52 . The catalyst system according to claim 47 , wherein the catalyst system comprises a catalyst-ionomer bulk heterojunction (CIBH) and wherein the ion-conducting polymer comprises a perfluorinated sulfonic acid ionomer.

53 . The catalyst system according to claim 47 , wherein the catalyst system comprises a catalyst-ionomer bulk heterojunction (CIBH) and wherein the CIBH has a weight ratio of catalyst material to ion-conducting polymer ranging from 0.1 to 10.0.

54 . The catalyst system according to claim 39 , wherein the catalytic material is provided as a porous metal layer and the one or more ion-conducting polymer layers are disposed thereon to form a catalyst-ionomer planar heterojunction (CIPH).

55 . A method of manufacturing a catalyst system for gas-phase electrolysis of reactant gas to produce a product in an aqueous medium, the method comprising:
a) providing a catalytic material being or comprising a catalytic metal and/or carbon; wherein the catalytic metal comprises one or more selected from Cu, Ag, Pd and Pd doped with Ag; and b) disposing an ion-conducting polymer onto an outer surface of the catalytic material to form one ion-conducting polymer layer thereon, wherein the ion-conducting polymer comprises hydrophobic domains and hydrophilic domains comprising sulfonic acid groups and wherein the ion-conducting polymer layer has a thickness of 2 nm to 50 nm measured by transmission-electron microscopy; wherein the ion-conducting polymer comprises a ionomer with a backbone that comprises the hydrophobic groups and side chains that comprise the hydrophilic groups.

56 . The method of claim 55 , wherein the step of disposing an ion-conducting polymer onto an outer surface of the catalytic material further comprises:
providing an ion-conducting polymer liquid comprising the ion-conducting polymer and a solvent; and disposing the ion-conducting polymer liquid onto the catalytic material.

57 . A method of manufacturing a catalyst system for gas-phase electrolysis of reactant gas to produce a product in an aqueous medium, the method comprising:
providing a catalytic material being or comprising a catalytic metal and/or carbon; wherein the catalytic metal comprises one or more selected from Cu, Ag, Pd and Pd doped with Ag; wherein at least a part of the catalytic material is in the form of a plurality of particles; and providing an ion-conducting polymer, wherein the ion-conducting polymer comprises hydrophobic domains and hydrophilic domains comprising sulfonic acid groups; wherein the ion-conducting polymer comprises an ionomer with a backbone that comprises the hydrophobic groups and side chains that comprise the hydrophilic groups; contacting the plurality of catalytic material particles with the ion-conducting polymer and at least one solvent; to dispose the ion-conducting polymer around the plurality of catalytic material particles, and to form a mixture comprising a plurality of catalyst-polymer particles; and disposing the mixture onto a substrate to form thereon a catalyst-ionomer bulk heterojunction (CIBH) that comprises the catalytic material.

58 . The method according to claim 57 wherein the substrate is one selected from a gas diffusion membrane; a layer of catalytic material; a layer of ion-conducting polymer; or a layer of ion-conducting polymer disposed on a layer of catalytic material.

Assignees

• Totalenergies Onetech
• Governing Council Univ Toronto

Inventors

• García De Arquer Francisco Pelayo
• DINH Cao-Thang
• Ozden Adnan
• Wicks Joshua
• Sinton David
• Sargent Edward

Classifications

• C25B11/089 Primary

  Alloys · CPC title

• C25B13/08

  based on organic materials · CPC title

• C25B13/04 Primary

  characterised by the material · CPC title

• C25B11/032

  Gas diffusion electrodes · CPC title

• C25B9/17

  Cells comprising dimensionally-stable non-movable electrodes; Assemblies of constructional parts thereof · CPC title