Kilowatt-scale alkali-cation-free CO2 electrolysis via accelerating mass transfer

Electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction (ECO₂R) presents a sustainable pathway for industrial decarbonization by converting CO₂ into carbon-neutral fuels and chemicals. Despite progress in catalyst design, industrial scalability is hindered by slow mass-transfer kinetics. Here, we introduce a high-diffusion-flux gas diffusion electrode (HDF-GDE) that overcomes this limitation in alkali-cation-free systems, achieving CO₂ conversion rates at industrial current densities. Kinetic analysis demonstrates that conversion is governed by mass transfer efficiency rather than flow rate. By optimizing the GDE structure to maximize CO₂ diffusion and GDE utilization, we realize a kW-scale ECO₂R system with stability (>1000 hours),…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Award: 22378177
• HK
  Hong Kong Polytechnic University

  Award: 1-CD7U, 1-BBDV, 1-BBFN, and 8-CDCW
• CP
  China Petrochemical Corporation