TY - JOUR
T1 - Insights and Challenges for Applying Bipolar Membranes in Advanced Electrochemical Energy Systems
AU - Blommaert, Marijn A.
AU - Aili, David
AU - Tufa, Ramato Ashu
AU - Li, Qingfeng
AU - Smith, Wilson A.
AU - Vermaas, David A.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Bipolar membranes (BPMs) are gaining interest in energy conversion technologies. These membranes are composed of cation- and anion-exchange layers, with an interfacial layer in between. This gives the freedom to operate in different conditions (pH, concentration, composition) at both sides. Such membranes are used in two operational modes, forward and reverse bias. BPMs have been implemented in various electrochemical applications, like water and CO2 electrolyzers, fuel cells, and flow batteries, while BPMs are historically designed for acid/base production. Therefore, current commercial BPMs are not optimized, as the conditions change per application. Although the ideal BPM has highly conductive layers, high water dissociation kinetics, long lifetime, and low ion crossover, each application has its own priorities to be competitive in its field. We describe the challenges and requirements for future BPMs, and identify existing developments that can be leveraged to develop BPMs toward the scale of practical applications.
AB - Bipolar membranes (BPMs) are gaining interest in energy conversion technologies. These membranes are composed of cation- and anion-exchange layers, with an interfacial layer in between. This gives the freedom to operate in different conditions (pH, concentration, composition) at both sides. Such membranes are used in two operational modes, forward and reverse bias. BPMs have been implemented in various electrochemical applications, like water and CO2 electrolyzers, fuel cells, and flow batteries, while BPMs are historically designed for acid/base production. Therefore, current commercial BPMs are not optimized, as the conditions change per application. Although the ideal BPM has highly conductive layers, high water dissociation kinetics, long lifetime, and low ion crossover, each application has its own priorities to be competitive in its field. We describe the challenges and requirements for future BPMs, and identify existing developments that can be leveraged to develop BPMs toward the scale of practical applications.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85110077799&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acsenergylett.1c00618
DO - 10.1021/acsenergylett.1c00618
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85110077799
SN - 2380-8195
VL - 6
SP - 2539
EP - 2548
JO - ACS Energy Letters
JF - ACS Energy Letters
IS - 7
ER -