TY - JOUR

T1 - Enabling direct seawater electrolysis by redox-inactive amphiphilic amines via chloride sequestration

AU - Milia, Marco

AU - Choi, Yuyeol

AU - Lima, Rodrigo

AU - Na, Kyungsu

AU - Lee, Ji Woong

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT ( RS-2024-00349276 ), Danmarks Frie Forskningssfond ( 0253-00001B ), Villum Fonden ( 00019062 ), Carlsberg Foundation ( CF21-0308 ), NNF CO2 Research Center and the Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen . The authors thank the following personnels for helpful discussion: Prof. Emeritus O. Hammerich ( UCPH ), C. Tortzen (UCPH), Prof. K. Daasbjerg ( Aarhus University ), Dr. J. Folke Sundberg (DTU), Dr. Y. Hu (DTU), and Dr. P. Sebastian Pascual ( UCPH ). Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s)

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - Sustainable hydrogen production requires large amounts of treated freshwater and precious metals. Direct electrolysis of seawater without additional electrolytes can be a practical approach to address these limitations, however, it usually suffers from kinetically favored chlorine evolution reaction (CER), which is detrimental to an electrolysis system. We report that organocatalytic amphiphilic diamines play a crucial role in preventing the generation of chlorine gas. The feasibility of direct seawater electrolysis was demonstrated with pH-responsive organic amines, which can self-assemble under neutral and acidic conditions. Electrochemical analysis of our electrolysis in saline solutions revealed that (electro)chemical stability of amphiphilic diamines was responsible for preventing CER and hypochlorite formation. Our findings may have significant implications for the chemical industry and energy sectors as the world transitions towards renewable energy sources.

AB - Sustainable hydrogen production requires large amounts of treated freshwater and precious metals. Direct electrolysis of seawater without additional electrolytes can be a practical approach to address these limitations, however, it usually suffers from kinetically favored chlorine evolution reaction (CER), which is detrimental to an electrolysis system. We report that organocatalytic amphiphilic diamines play a crucial role in preventing the generation of chlorine gas. The feasibility of direct seawater electrolysis was demonstrated with pH-responsive organic amines, which can self-assemble under neutral and acidic conditions. Electrochemical analysis of our electrolysis in saline solutions revealed that (electro)chemical stability of amphiphilic diamines was responsible for preventing CER and hypochlorite formation. Our findings may have significant implications for the chemical industry and energy sectors as the world transitions towards renewable energy sources.

KW - Chlorine

KW - Electrolysis

KW - Hydrogen

KW - Organocatalyst

KW - Seawater

U2 - 10.1016/j.cej.2024.153763

DO - 10.1016/j.cej.2024.153763

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85197812496

VL - 496

JO - Biochemical Engineering Journal

JF - Biochemical Engineering Journal

SN - 1369-703X

M1 - 153763

ER -