Water Management Using Massively Produced Calcium Carbonate for Pilot‐Scale CO <sub>2</sub> Electrolysis
Abstract
ABSTRACT The performance of scalable, catholyte‐free membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) is restricted by insufficient interfacial water and proton supply. Here, we present a general strategy for constructing an ideal proton‐feeding microenvironment based on calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ), an earth‐abundant mineral. Using in situ spectroscopy and theoretical simulations, we reveal that the uniquely hydrophilic surface of CaCO 3 selectively enriches and stabilizes the more mobile and reactive liquid‐like water molecules (2‐HB·H 2 O), thereby establishing an efficient proton highway near the electrode. This enables metal‐loaded CaCO 3 (M/CaCO 3 , M = Zn, and Cu) catalysts to achieve exceptional performance at industrial‐relevant current densities. Crucially, we demonstrate that the catalyst can be synthesized on a kilogram scale directly from unpurified cement plant flue gas. This catalyst enables high‐rate CO 2 conversion to C 2+ (FE C2+ 77.97%) or syngas (19 L h − 1 ; the CO/H 2 ratio ∼2) in a 100 cm 2 electrolyzer stack. This work establishes a general paradigm for using natural minerals to manipulate interfacial water dynamics for industrial electrocatalysis.
Article Details
Authors (16)
Yuan Zhong
Yu Cui
Anhui Engineering Research Center of Carbon Neutrality, College of Chemistry and Materials Science
Junbo Zhang
Xin Wang
Xuecheng Guo
Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale School of Chemistry and Materials Science National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory Department of Environmental Science and Engineering School of Nuclear Science and Technology University of Science and Technology of China Hefei Anhui China
Qianqi Shi
Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale School of Chemistry and Materials Science National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory Department of Environmental Science and Engineering School of Nuclear Science and Technology University of Science and Technology of China Hefei Anhui China
Canyu Hu
Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Key Laboratory of Precision and Intelligent Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, School of Nuclear Science and Technology
Kun Zhou
Key Laboratory of Animal Virology, Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs of China and Zhejiang Provincial Engineering Research Center of Animal Biological Products, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Zhejiang University College of Animal Sciences
Mingjun Shao
Anhui Conch Group Co., Ltd. Wuhu Anhui China
Wenqi Nie
Anhui Conch Group Co., Ltd. Wuhu Anhui China
Linhua Chu
Anhui Conch Group Co., Ltd. Wuhu Anhui China
Ning Zhang
Wenqing Zhang
Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies & Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Computational Science and Material Design
Hengjie Liu
National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Precision and Intelligent Chemistry
Ran Long
Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Key Laboratory of Precision and Intelligent Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, School of Nuclear Science and Technology
Yujie Xiong
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Glass Materials, Anhui Engineering Research Center of Carbon Neutrality, The Key Laboratory of Functional Molecular Solids, Ministry of Education, Anhui Laboratory of Molecular-Based Materials, College of Chemistry and Materials Science