Modifying Ionic Membranes with Carbon Dots Enables Direct Production of High-Purity Hydrogen through Water Electrolysis

Song Wang, Daliang Zhang, Xiaohua Ma, Jiucong Liu, Yanli Chen, Yunfeng Zhao, Yu Han

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Traditional electrolysis of water produces hydrogen with a purity of ∼98%. Using ion transport membranes to prevent the migration of oxygen (O2) from the anode to the cathode, the purity of H2 can be increased to ∼99.8%, but it still cannot fulfill the requirement for use in fuel cells (>99.97%). Here, we report that modifying a commercial ionic membrane (Nafion) with carbon dots (CDs) can further inhibit O2 permeation across the membrane, while effectively improving its ion transportability. The key to achieve these effects is the rational design and proper loading of the CDs, which narrows the pore size of the membrane from ∼4 nm to
Original languageEnglish (US)
JournalACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 16 2021

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Materials Science

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