Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 13, 2026

Hydrogen Production and Utilization in a Membrane Reactor
Published on: March 10, 2023
Membrane-Free Direct Seawater Electrolysis via Redox Mediator for H2 Production
AJing Song1, Siyuan Mei1, Xin Jin1
1State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, 201620, China.
Abstract:
Acidic seawater electrolysis offers a promising strategy for sustainable hydrogen production. However, its practical application still faces critical challenges including membrane dependency, complex seawater pretreatment, and limited compatibility with intermittent renewable energy. Herein, we construct a decoupled seawater direct electrolysis (DSDE) system employing TQBQ-COF (Covalent Organic Framework) as a solid-state redox mediator, enabling membrane- and desalination-free operation. TQBQ-COF exhibits excellent electrochemical performances in both acidic deionized water and acidic seawater, demonstrating that common seawater ions do not interfere with its redox activity. When coupled with a Ru-modified TQBQ-COF catalyst (COF-Ru), the DSDE system decouples anode and cathode reactions, allowing flexible integration with intermittent renewable energy for high-purity H2 and Cl2 production. This system achieves a hydrogen production cost of US$2.5 per kg H2, offering a simplified, robust, and scalable solution for practical seawater electrolysis.
Related Concept Videos
Electrolysis
Chemiosmosis
Electron Transport Chain
The electron transport chain involves a series of protein complexes on the inner mitochondrial membrane that undergo a series of redox reactions. At the end of this chain, the electrons...
Reduction of Alkenes: Asymmetric Catalytic Hydrogenation
The metal catalyst used can be either heterogeneous or homogeneous. When hydrogenation of an alkene generates a chiral center, a pair of enantiomeric products is expected to form. However, an enantiomeric excess of one of the products can be facilitated using an enantioselective reaction or an...
Reduction of Alkenes: Catalytic Hydrogenation
Metals like palladium, platinum, and nickel are commonly used in their solid forms — fine powder on an inert surface. As these catalysts remain insoluble in the reaction mixture, they are referred to as heterogeneous catalysts.
The hydrogenation process takes place on the...
Redox Reactions
Anoxygenic Photosynthesis

