School of Resource and Environmental Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China.
Hubei International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Sustainable Resources and Energy, Wuhan, 430072, China.
Nat Commun. 2023 Jan 17;14(1):253. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-35904-7.
High-temperature molten-salt electrolyzers play a central role in metals, materials and chemicals production for their merit of favorable kinetics. However, a low-cost, long-lasting, and efficient high-temperature oxygen evolution reaction (HT-OER) electrode remains a big challenge. Here we report an iron-base electrode with an in situ formed lithium ferrite scale that provides enhanced stability and catalytic activity in both high-temperature molten carbonate and chloride salts. The finding is stemmed from a discovery of the ionic potential-stability relationship and a basicity modulation principle of oxide films in molten salt. Using the iron-base electrode, we build a kiloampere-scale molten carbonate electrolyzer to efficiently convert CO to carbon and oxygen. More broadly, the design principles lay the foundations for exploring cheap, Earth-abundant, and long-lasting HT-OER electrodes for electrochemical devices with molten carbonate and chloride electrolytes.
高温熔盐电解槽在金属、材料和化学品生产中发挥着核心作用，因为它们具有良好的动力学性能。然而，低成本、长寿命、高效的高温析氧反应（HT-OER）电极仍然是一个巨大的挑战。在这里，我们报道了一种具有原位形成的铁酸锂层的铁基电极，该电极在高温碳酸盐和氯化物盐中具有增强的稳定性和催化活性。这一发现源于对氧化物膜在熔盐中的离子电位稳定性关系和堿度调节原理的发现。使用铁基电极，我们构建了一个千瓦级规模的熔融碳酸盐电解槽，以有效地将 CO 转化为碳和氧。更广泛地说，这些设计原则为探索具有碳酸盐和氯化物电解质的电化学装置的廉价、丰富的、长寿命的 HT-OER 电极奠定了基础。
