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Updated: May 28, 2026
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Assessment of Boron Doped Diamond Electrode Quality and Application to In Situ Modification of Local pH by Water Electrolysis
Published on: January 6, 2016
Enhanced bicarbonate electrolysis using bipolar membranes with accelerated water dissociation
Mengjing Wang1, Kewen Xing1, Binbin Pan1
1Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China; Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Advanced Negative Carbon Technologies, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China.
Journal of Colloid and Interface Science
|May 26, 2026
Summary
Integrating graphene oxide (GO) into bipolar membranes (BPMs) significantly boosts bicarbonate electrolysis efficiency. This innovation lowers operating voltages and enhances energy efficiency for converting captured CO2 into valuable chemicals.
Area of Science:
- Electrochemistry
- Materials Science
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- Bicarbonate electrolysis converts captured CO2 into chemicals, but bipolar membranes (BPMs) have slow water dissociation kinetics, limiting efficiency.
- High operating voltages and low energy efficiency hinder practical applications of BPM-based CO2 conversion.
Purpose of the Study:
- To improve bicarbonate electrolysis efficiency by integrating water dissociation (WD) catalysts into BPMs.
- To identify and evaluate cost-effective and scalable WD catalysts for enhanced CO2 conversion.
Main Methods:
- Graphene oxide (GO) was investigated as a WD catalyst integrated into BPMs for bicarbonate electrolysis.
- Electrochemical performance was assessed, measuring formate Faradaic efficiency (FE), cell voltage, energy efficiency (EE), and partial current density.
Main Results:
- GO integrated into BPMs significantly reduced cell voltage by approximately 2 V and nearly doubled formate energy efficiency.
- GO-enabled reactors achieved a formate FE of 60% at 360 mA cm-2 and 3.87 V.
- Formate partial current density was at least 2.4-fold higher compared to previous state-of-the-art systems.
Conclusions:
- Integrating graphene oxide as a water dissociation catalyst in BPMs is a key strategy for efficient bicarbonate electrolysis.
- This approach offers a promising pathway for carbon-negative chemical manufacturing and advanced energy systems.
Keywords:
Bicarbonate electrolysisBipolar membraneGraphene oxideMembrane electrode assemblyWater dissociationMore Related Videos
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