Pushkarev A S, Pushkareva I V, Solovyev M A, Butrim S I, Grigoriev S A
National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute", 123182 Moscow, Russia.
National Research University "Moscow Power Engineering Institute", 111250 Moscow, Russia.
Nanotechnol Russ. 2020;15(11):785-792. doi: 10.1134/S1995078020060154. Epub 2021 May 5.
The efficient production of gaseous oxygen used in many branches of industry to provide human life in anaerobic environments and in medicine (e.g., in the case of acute respiratory failure as one of COVID-19 complications) is challenging nowadays. The electrochemical oxygen pump (concentrator) with a solid polymer electrolyte representing an electrolyzer with air cathode depolarization is a very promising device, which provides the portable, safe, and efficient in situ production of highly pure oxygen at a twice lower energy consumption as compared to the water electrolyzer with a solid polymer electrolyte. The effect produced by the hydrophobization of a nanostructured oxygen reduction catalyst on the oxygen pump characteristics and the endurance of a cathode catalytic layer to flooding has been considered. The modification of a carbon support with polytetrafluoroethylene particles improves the removal of excessive water from the catalytic layer and increases the limiting current characterizing the appearance of transport limitations. The operational parameters (air temperature, flow rate, and pressure) also have an essential effect on the oxygen pump performance and must be optimized to improve water transport in catalytic layers, increase the operating current densities, and reduce the energy consumption in oxygen production.
如今，在许多工业分支中用于在厌氧环境中维持人类生命以及在医学领域（例如，作为新冠病毒疾病并发症之一的急性呼吸衰竭情况）的气态氧的高效生产具有挑战性。具有固体聚合物电解质的电化学氧气泵（浓缩器），它是一种带有空气阴极去极化的电解槽，是一种非常有前景的设备，与具有固体聚合物电解质的水电解槽相比，它能以低一半的能耗原位生产高纯度氧气，且具有便携、安全和高效的特点。研究了纳米结构氧还原催化剂的疏水化对氧气泵特性以及阴极催化层耐水淹性的影响。用聚四氟乙烯颗粒对碳载体进行改性可改善催化层中过量水分的去除，并增加表征传输限制出现的极限电流。操作参数（空气温度、流速和压力）对氧气泵性能也有重要影响，必须进行优化以改善催化层中的水传输、提高工作电流密度并降低氧气生产中的能耗。
