Application: CO₂ Reduction.
Instrument: HPR-40 DEMS.
Cell: ECL Insight.
Configuration: PTFE membrane interface for operando gas analysis of Cu electrodes.
Key Capabilities: Real-time DEMS, quantitative product analysis, sub-second response, local reaction environment studies.
The selectivity of electrochemical CO₂ reduction is strongly influenced by the local reaction environment, but monitoring these changes in real time is challenging using conventional analytical techniques. In this study, the Hiden HPR-40 DEMS fitted with the ECL-Insight electrochemical cell was used to continuously monitor gaseous reaction products directly at the catalyst surface while electrolyte composition, catalyst morphology and mass transport conditions were systematically varied. The PTFE membrane inlet provided rapid sampling of dissolved gases, allowing changes in product distribution to be followed with a temporal resolution of approximately 400 ms.
The DEMS system was calibrated to provide quantitative analysis of the gaseous products, enabling changes in Faradaic product distribution to be correlated with variations in the local CO₂ concentration and electrolyte environment. These measurements demonstrated how local alkalinity, CO₂ transport and catalyst surface structure combine to control selectivity towards C₂ products. The insights gained using the HPR-40 DEMS were subsequently applied to optimise the operating conditions of an anion exchange membrane electrolyser.
This paper is an excellent example of how the HPR-40 DEMS can provide quantitative, real-time analysis of electrochemical reactions while directly linking catalyst performance to the local reaction environment.
Why read this paper?
A clear demonstration of how quantitative DEMS measurements can be used to optimise CO₂ electrolysers by understanding the local reaction environment.
Paper Reference: Ye, K., Zhang, G., Ni, B., Guo, L., Deng, C., Zhuang, X., Zhao, C., Cai, W.-B. and Jiang, K. (2023). Steering CO2 electrolysis selectivity by modulating the local reaction environment: An online DEMS approach for Cu electrodes. eScience, 3(4), p.100143.
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