Membrane‐Free Direct Seawater Electrolysis via Redox Mediator for H <sub>2</sub> Production
Abstract
Abstract Acidic seawater electrolysis offers a promising strategy for sustainable hydrogen production. However, its practical application still faces critical challenges including membrane dependency, complex seawater pretreatment, and limited compatibility with intermittent renewable energy. Herein, we construct a decoupled seawater direct electrolysis (DSDE) system employing TQBQ‐COF (Covalent Organic Framework) as a solid‐state redox mediator, enabling membrane‐ and desalination‐free operation. TQBQ‐COF exhibits excellent electrochemical performances in both acidic deionized water and acidic seawater, demonstrating that common seawater ions do not interfere with its redox activity. When coupled with a Ru‐modified TQBQ‐COF catalyst (COF‐Ru), the DSDE system decouples anode and cathode reactions, allowing flexible integration with intermittent renewable energy for high‐purity H 2 and Cl 2 production. This system achieves a hydrogen production cost of US$2.5 per kg H 2 , offering a simplified, robust, and scalable solution for practical seawater electrolysis.
Article Details
Authors (5)
AJing Song
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering Donghua University Shanghai 201620 China
Siyuan Mei
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering Donghua University Shanghai 201620 China
Xin Jin
Yuanyuan Ma
Nurturing Center of Jiangsu Province for State Laboratory of AI Imaging & Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine
JianPing Yang