High carbonate ion conductance of a robust PiperION membrane allows industrial current density and conversion in a zero-gap carbon dioxide electrolyzer cell

Abstract

A poly(aryl piperidinium)-based anion exchange membrane (PiperION) with high carbonate conductance is employed for CO2 electrolysis to CO in conjunction with a tailored electrolyzer cell structure. This combination results in unprecedentedly high partial current densities in zero-gap cells (jCO > 1.0 A cm-2), while maintaining high conversion (20-45%), selectivity (up to 90%) and low cell voltage (2.6-3.4 V).