Is direct seawater splitting economically meaningful?

Hausmann, J. Niklas; Schlögl, Robert; Menezes, Prashanth W.; Drieß, Matthias

doi:10.1039/d0ee03659e

Cited by 241 publications

(170 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…[178,180] Meanwhile, the crossover of evolved Cl 2 or chlorides from anode will also deteriorate the stability of cathode; [181,182] iv) the development of considerable seawater splitting catalysts is still confined in the noble metal-based ones, while the inherent conductivity, activity, and corrosionresistance of the recently emerged non-precious metal-based alternatives still need to be improved; [182,183] and most notably, (v) the seawater splitting bears almost no economical benefits in comparison to splitting purified of water, making it as an unreliable technology in the present scenario, however, expected to provide fundamental insights to the field. [184] Benefiting from the easily-tailored electronic structure, enhanced charge conductivity, as well as optimized corrosion resistance and stability, the self-supported TM-based catalysts were regarded as promising candidates for practical seawater electrolysis. For HER in seawater electrolyte, it suffers from the influence of resolved cations in seawater most severely.…”

Section: Self-supported Electrocatalysts In Seawater Electrolytementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Promising Self‐supported Electrocatalysts For Practical Appl...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Self‐Supported Electrocatalysts for Practical Water Electrolysis

Yang

Drieß

Menezes

2021

Advanced Energy Materials

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241

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Over the years, significant advances have been made to boost the efficiency of water splitting by carefully designing economic electrocatalysts with augmented conductivity, more accessible active sites, and high intrinsic activity in laboratory test conditions. However, it remains a challenge to develop earth‐abundant catalysts that can satisfy the demands of practical water electrolysis, that is, outstanding all‐pH electrolyte capacity, direct seawater splitting ability, exceptional performance for overall water splitting, superior large‐current‐density activity, and robust long‐term durability. In this context, considering the features of increased active species loading, rapid charge, and mass transfer, a strong affinity between catalytic components and substrates, easily‐controlled wettability, as well as, enhanced bifunctional performance, the self‐supported electrocatalysts are presently projected to be the most suitable contenders for practical massive scale hydrogen generation. In this review, a comprehensive introduction to the design and fabrication of self‐supported electrocatalysts with an emphasis on the design of deposited nanostructured catalysts, the selection of self‐supported substrates, and various fabrication methods are provided. Thereafter, the recent development of promising self‐supported electrocatalysts for practical applications is reviewed from the aforementioned aspects. Finally, a brief conclusion is delivered and the challenges and perspectives relating to promotion of self‐supported electrocatalysts for sustainable large‐scale production of hydrogen are discussed.

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Section: Self-supported Electrocatalysts In Seawater Electrolytementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Promising Self‐supported Electrocatalysts For Practical Appl...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Self‐Supported Electrocatalysts for Practical Water Electrolysis

Yang

Drieß

Menezes

2021

Advanced Energy Materials

Self Cite

241

146

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…At the same time, direct use of impure seawater for water splitting would have two clear advantages: (i) it can be realized with offshore photovoltaic- or wind-powered electrolysis devices and thus does not compete for precious land space with agricultural use; , (ii) it needs neither freshwater, which is a scarce resource in many countries, nor prior desalination and further purification, which are energy intensive. The latter, however, is a widely disputed topic; currently the costs of desalination are low with respect to those associated with direct state of the art seawater electrolysis, but advancing technologies may reverse the economic aspects . In comparison to a two-step desalination + conventional electrolysis approach, direct seawater splitting also has the advantage that it could be applied in a more decentralized manner (not requiring large desalination plants) and in an offshore location in the marine industry .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the Catalytic Selectivity of Cobalt Hexacyanoferrate toward Oxygen Evolution in Seawater Electrolysis

et al. 2021

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Hydrogen is a most desirable solar energy storage medium. It provides reliable, scalable, and long-term energy storage, while helping in the decarbonization of the energy cycle. Such a storage medium is required for further deployment of photovoltaics, either for their inclusion into transportation and heavy industries or for supporting renewable grid management. The most accessible hydrogen source is water. However, fresh water is a scarce resource, while seawater is abundant worldwide. A major drawback of seawater electrolysis comes from chloride oxidation competing with the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). This may produce toxic products such as chlorine and also limits the hydrogen energy efficiency of the overall process. Thus, selective catalysts toward the OER are of strong technological interest. Here we report the electrocatalytic activity of heterogeneous cobalt hexacyanoferrate toward seawater oxidation. Combining experimental and computational studies, we highlight the great difficulty in obtaining such selectivity and its main mechanistic descriptors. This Prussian blue derivative is an excellent and robust OER electrocatalyst, but unfortunately, it is not selective enough toward the OER in the presence of Cl– anions. Faradaic efficiencies above 30% toward Cl2 were observed during untreated seawater bulk electrolysis.

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“…To address these problems, many "green" technologies have been investigated to deploy renewable and environmentally friendly energy, such as solar, tidal, and wind energies [1][2][3][4]. Hydrogen is considered to be an ideal clean energy source for the future, and it can be produced by many methods, such as fossil fuel extraction, methane reorganization, photocatalytic water decomposition, and so on [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High Selectivity Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Evolution Reaction and Anti-Chlorine Corrosion Strategies in Seawater Splitting

et al. 2022

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Seawater is one of the most abundant and clean hydrogen atom resources on our planet, so hydrogen production from seawater splitting has notable advantages. Direct electrolysis of seawater would not be in competition with growing demands for pure water. Using green electricity generated from renewable sources (e.g., solar, tidal, and wind energies), the direct electrolytic splitting of seawater into hydrogen and oxygen is a potentially attractive technology under the framework of carbon-neutral energy production. High selectivity and efficiency, as well as stable electrocatalysts, are prerequisites to facilitate the practical applications of seawater splitting. Even though the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is thermodynamically favorable, the most desirable reaction process, the four-electron reaction, exhibits a high energy barrier. Furthermore, due to the presence of a high concentration of chloride ions (Cl−) in seawater, chlorine evolution reactions involving two electrons are more competitive. Therefore, intensive research efforts have been devoted to optimizing the design and construction of highly efficient and anticorrosive OER electrocatalysts. Based on this, in this review, we summarize the progress of recent research in advanced electrocatalysts for seawater splitting, with an emphasis on their remarkable OER selectivity and distinguished anti-chlorine corrosion performance, including the recent progress in seawater OER electrocatalysts with their corresponding optimized strategies. The future perspectives for the development of seawater-splitting electrocatalysts are also demonstrated.

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Is direct seawater splitting economically meaningful?

Abstract: Electrocatalytic water splitting is the key process for the formation of green fuels for energy transport and storage in a sustainable energy economy. Besides electricity, it requires water, an aspect...

Cited by 241 publications

References 62 publications

Self‐Supported Electrocatalysts for Practical Water Electrolysis

Self‐Supported Electrocatalysts for Practical Water Electrolysis

Understanding the Catalytic Selectivity of Cobalt Hexacyanoferrate toward Oxygen Evolution in Seawater Electrolysis

High Selectivity Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Evolution Reaction and Anti-Chlorine Corrosion Strategies in Seawater Splitting

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