Photoanode-assisted AEM water electrolysis hydrogen production electric pile

Abstract

The utility model discloses a photo-anode-assisted AEM water electrolysis hydrogen production stack which comprises an AEM membrane electrode, an anode part and a cathode part, wherein the anode part and the cathode part are located on the two sides of the AEM membrane electrode respectively; the photocatalytic layer is arranged facing the anode part; the anode part is provided with a light-transmitting part, and the light-transmitting part is used for enabling external light to reach the photocatalytic layer. According to the photo-anode-assisted AEM water electrolysis hydrogen production electric pile, light can be irradiated to the photocatalytic layer to generate photo-generated holes, and electrons are efficiently migrated to the anode catalyst layer on the surface of the AEM membrane electrode, so that the electron migration speed of the anode can be increased, the defect of low activity of an anode catalyst is overcome, and the reaction speed of water electrolysis hydrogen production is higher.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The utility model relates to electrolytic water hydrogen production equipment technical field more specifically, relate to a kind of light anode auxiliary AEM electrolytic water hydrogen production electric pile. BACKGROUND

[0002] Current electrolytic water hydrogen production technology mainly includes alkali water (ALK) hydrogen production and proton exchange membrane (PEM) hydrogen production, but ALK hydrogen production has high energy consumption and low hydrogen production efficiency, and cannot be efficiently matched with the volatility of renewable energy, so it is more suitable for grid electrolysis hydrogen production, resulting in its hydrogen production cost is significantly higher than the cost of green electricity hydrogen production, and PEM hydrogen production has high cost due to the use of noble metal. However, anion exchange membrane (AEM) hydrogen production technology combines the advantages of ALK and PEM, has better green electricity adaptability, is easy to couple with renewable energy, has larger current density, lower energy consumption, higher electrolytic hydrogen production efficiency, and the electrolyte used is pure water or low-concentration alkaline solution, so it can avoid the corrosion of strong alkaline solution to the equipment, so the technology has obvious advantages.

[0003] The above-mentioned AEM electrolytic water hydrogen production technology also has disadvantages, including low activity of anode and cathode catalysts, slow reaction kinetics, poor stability, resulting in high energy consumption, low hydrogen production efficiency and short service life of AEM electrolytic cell. The key to reducing the energy consumption of AEM electrolytic cell is to use a catalyst with good electrochemical activity to effectively reduce the overpotential of the anode and cathode. Because the anode has lower reaction kinetics parameters than the cathode, how to improve the catalytic performance of the anode is a key problem to be solved. UTILITY MODEL CONTENT

[0004] To solve the above technical problems, the utility model provides a light anode auxiliary AEM electrolytic water hydrogen production electric pile, which can utilize light irradiation to the photocatalytic layer to generate photo-generated holes, and efficiently migrate electrons to the anode catalyst layer on the surface of the AEM membrane electrode, thereby accelerating the electron migration speed of the anode, compensating for the low activity of the anode catalyst, and making the electrolytic water hydrogen production reaction faster.

[0005] The utility model provides a light anode auxiliary AEM electrolytic water hydrogen production electric pile, which includes an AEM membrane electrode and an anode part and a cathode part located on both sides thereof.

[0006] It also includes a photocatalytic layer facing the anode part.

[0007] The anode part has a light-transmitting part for allowing external light to reach the photocatalytic layer.

[0008] Preferably, in the above-mentioned water electrolysis hydrogen production stack assisted by light anode, the anode part comprises, from outside to inside, an anode end plate, an anode insulation plate, an anode monopolar plate and an anode flow channel layer, and the light-transmitting part comprises a first hollow area of the anode end plate.

[0009] Preferably, in the above-mentioned water electrolysis hydrogen production stack assisted by light anode, the light-transmitting part further comprises a light collector arranged in the first hollow area of the anode end plate, and the light collector is fixed to the first hollow area of the anode end plate by means of a thermosetting resin adhesive arranged at the outer periphery of the light collector.

[0010] Preferably, in the above-mentioned water electrolysis hydrogen production stack assisted by light anode, the light-transmitting part further comprises a second hollow area of the anode insulation plate and a first transparent buffer arranged in the second hollow area, and the first transparent buffer is adhered in the second hollow area by means of a thermosetting resin adhesive.

[0011] Preferably, in the above-mentioned water electrolysis hydrogen production stack assisted by light anode, the light-transmitting part further comprises a third hollow area of the anode monopolar plate.

[0012] Preferably, in the above-mentioned water electrolysis hydrogen production stack assisted by light anode, the light-transmitting part further comprises a second transparent buffer arranged in the third hollow area of the anode monopolar plate, and the second transparent buffer is adhered in the third hollow area by means of a thermosetting resin adhesive.

[0013] Preferably, in the above-mentioned water electrolysis hydrogen production stack assisted by light anode, the anode monopolar plate is a metal anode monopolar plate with a tab.

[0014] Preferably, in the above-mentioned water electrolysis hydrogen production stack assisted by light anode, the first transparent buffer and the second transparent buffer are transparent silicone buffer or transparent EVA buffer.

[0015] Preferably, in the above-mentioned water electrolysis hydrogen production stack assisted by light anode, the AEM membrane electrode comprises an anion membrane and, arranged in sequence on the side of the anion membrane facing the anode part, an anode catalyst layer, an anode gas diffusion layer and the photocatalytic layer.

[0016] Preferably, in the above-mentioned water electrolysis hydrogen production stack assisted by light anode, the AEM membrane electrode further comprises, arranged in sequence on the side of the anion membrane facing the cathode part, a cathode catalyst layer and a cathode gas diffusion layer; and the cathode part comprises, from outside to inside, a cathode end plate, a cathode insulation plate, a cathode monopolar plate and a cathode flow channel layer.

[0017] It can be seen from the technical scheme that the light anode auxiliary AEM water electrolysis hydrogen production electric pile provided by the utility model has the advantages that the light anode auxiliary AEM water electrolysis hydrogen production electric pile comprises an AEM membrane electrode and an anode part and a cathode part located at two sides of the AEM membrane electrode respectively, further comprises a photocatalytic layer which is arranged towards the anode part, and the anode part has a light transmission part for allowing external light to reach the photocatalytic layer, so the light transmission part is used for allowing the light to reach the photocatalytic layer for reaction, and therefore the electric pile can utilize the light irradiation to the photocatalytic layer to generate photo-generated holes, and the electrons are efficiently migrated to the anode catalyst layer on the surface of the AEM membrane electrode, so that the electron migration speed of the anode is accelerated, the defect of low anode catalyst activity is compensated, and the water electrolysis hydrogen production reaction speed is faster. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0018] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical scheme in the embodiments of the utility model or the prior art, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments or the prior art description will be briefly introduced below, and obviously, the drawings in the following description are only embodiments of the utility model, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained according to the provided drawings without creative labor.

[0019] Figure 1 It is an overall explosion map of the embodiment of the light anode auxiliary AEM water electrolysis hydrogen production electric pile provided by the utility model.

[0020] Figure 2 It is an explosion map of the AEM membrane electrode of the light anode auxiliary AEM water electrolysis hydrogen production electric pile provided by the utility model. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The core of the utility model is to provide a kind of light anode auxiliary AEM water electrolysis hydrogen production electric pile, can utilize the light irradiation to photocatalytic layer to generate photo-generated hole, let electron efficiently migrate to the anode catalyst layer on the surface of AEM membrane electrode, therefore can accelerate the electron migration speed of anode, compensate the defect of low anode catalyst activity, let water electrolysis hydrogen production reaction speed be faster.

[0022] The technical scheme in the embodiments of the utility model will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the utility model, and obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the utility model, not all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor belong to the scope of protection of the utility model.

[0023] The embodiment of the light anode auxiliary AEM water electrolysis hydrogen production electric pile provided by the utility model as shown in Figure 1 And Figure 2 As shown, Figure 1The utility model provides an overall explosion map of the embodiment of a kind of light anode auxiliary AEM electrolytic water hydrogen production electric pile provided by the utility model, Figure 2 The utility model provides the explosion map of the AEM membrane electrode of a kind of light anode auxiliary AEM electrolytic water hydrogen production electric pile, the light anode auxiliary AEM electrolytic water hydrogen production electric pile can include AEM membrane electrode 1 and respectively located at its both sides anode portion 2 and cathode portion 3, from Figure 1 It can be seen that these all belong to anode portion 2 on the left side of AEM membrane electrode 1, these all belong to cathode portion 3 on the right side, and the structure is used to electrolytic water hydrogen production relies on the transfer of electron, electron is transferred from anode portion 2 to cathode portion 3, under normal circumstances, the OH - The migration speed of ion is much faster than the speed of electron transfer from anode portion to cathode portion, so that the electron transfer of anode portion becomes the short board factor of the speed of overall electrolytic water hydrogen production process, to solve this problem, from Figure 2 It can be seen that the electric pile further includes photocatalytic layer 11, is set to anode portion 2, the anode portion 2 has light transmission part 21, and light transmission part 21 is used to let the light of outside reach photocatalytic layer 11, and the specific light transmission mode here can adopt the way of windowing, can also adopt transparent material, as long as it can form a light transmission path between photocatalytic layer 11 and outside.The photocatalyst used in photocatalytic layer 11 can generally be semiconductor material, such as TiO2, g-C3N4 etc., which is used to absorb light energy, and the electron in it jumps from valence band to conduction band, and the hole left is in valence band, so that electron-hole pair is generated, and the electron and hole generated by light excitation are separated in photocatalyst to prevent them from recombining quickly, and the separated electron and hole can migrate to the surface of photocatalyst, using the structure, under the assistance of light, the photovoltage of semiconductor material and the coupling effect of external electric field can effectively change the reduction capacity of electrode electron, reduce the overpotential of anode oxygen evolution reaction and power input requirement, thereby effectively compensating the short board of high energy consumption of anode portion, specifically, this photocatalytic layer 11 can efficiently absorb sunlight, generate photo-generated hole and electron, and the hole is oxidized in anode portion Water is generated O2, and the electron is guided to cathode portion to reduce water to produce hydrogen, and the stability is better, compared with electrocatalysis technology, the light anode auxiliary electrocatalysis system reduces the energy consumption in the process of hydrogen production, so it has lower green electricity hydrogen production cost and higher hydrogen production efficiency.

[0024] It can be seen from the technical scheme that, in the embodiment of the above-mentioned light anode auxiliary AEM water electrolysis hydrogen production electric pile provided by the utility model, since the AEM membrane electrode and the anode part and the cathode part located on both sides thereof are included, a photocatalytic layer is further included and faces the anode part, and the anode part has a light-transmitting part for allowing external light to reach the photocatalytic layer, it can be seen that the key of the scheme lies in that the light-transmitting part is opened to allow the photocatalytic layer to react after the light is transmitted, thus the electric pile can utilize the light irradiation to the photocatalytic layer to generate photo-generated holes, and the electrons are efficiently migrated to the anode catalyst layer on the surface of the AEM membrane electrode, so that the electron migration speed of the anode can be accelerated, the defect of low anode catalyst activity is compensated, and the water electrolysis hydrogen production reaction speed is faster.

[0025] In one specific embodiment of the above-mentioned light anode auxiliary AEM water electrolysis hydrogen production electric pile, with reference to the above-mentioned embodiment Figure 1The anode part 2 can include, from outside to inside, an anode end plate 22, an anode insulation plate 23, an anode monopolar plate 24, and an anode flow channel layer 25. The anode end plate 22 is used to provide support and pressure-bearing strength for the overall stack, can withstand a large pre-tightening force in the assembly process, thereby protecting the other internal components from damage. The anode insulation plate 23 can electrically isolate the anode monopolar plate 24 from the anode end plate 22, avoiding the risk of electric shock to relevant personnel and equipment caused by current leakage in the anode monopolar plate 24 on the anode end plate 22. The anode monopolar plate 24 is used to connect to an external power source to achieve electrification and provide electrical energy for hydrogen production by electrolysis of water. The metal part can be carbon steel plated with nickel or pure nickel, and other materials can also be selected according to actual needs, which are not limited here. The anode flow channel layer 25 can be a flow channel formed on the substrate facing the AEM membrane electrode 1 side by stamping or casting. It is used for the flow of water or alkaline liquid, which can but not limited to use transparent glass as the substrate. When the substrate is transparent glass, the glass is first melted, and then the anode flow channel layer 25 is formed by casting or stamping at high temperature, so as to facilitate the circulation of liquid and gas. The substrate used here must be transparent, and a transparent conductive layer is made on the surface of the flow channel formed after molding. The transparent conductive layer can be made of ITO (indium tin oxide) or AZO (aluminum-doped zinc oxide), both of which are light-transmitting materials, so that the anode flow channel layer 25 will not block light. The ITO conductive glue can be directly coated, and the AZO can be deposited by physical vapor deposition (PVD), including but not limited to magnetron sputtering, vacuum plating, etc. The light-transmitting part 21 can include a first hollow area of the anode end plate 22. It should be noted that the first hollow area is opened to ensure that the anode end plate 22 still has sufficient support and pressure-bearing strength, so that it will not affect the subsequent assembly process due to internal holes. The anode end plate 22 can be made of high-strength materials such as 316L stainless steel, 304 stainless steel, etc., which can be selected according to actual needs.

[0026] On the basis of the above embodiment, the light-transmitting portion 21 can further include a condenser 221 disposed in the first hollow region of the anode end plate 22. The condenser 221 can be preferably a convex lens. The condenser 221 can not only transmit light but also have a high refractive index, so that more light from the surrounding environment at various angles can be collected onto the photocatalytic layer 11 to perform relevant reactions, thereby improving the light intensity. The condenser 221 also needs to have a sufficiently high strength. The material of the condenser 221 can be, but is not limited to, quartz glass, borosilicate glass, fluoride glass, polycarbonate (PC), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), cyclic olefin polymer (COP), and the like. In addition, the condenser 221 can be fixed to the first hollow region of the anode end plate 22 by using a thermosetting resin adhesive provided on the outer periphery of the condenser 221. It should be noted that the fixing method only needs to ensure that the condenser 221 does not fall off the anode end plate 22. The fixing method does not need to bear the assembly pressure, because the assembly pressure is borne by the anode end plate 22 itself. As long as the pressure-bearing capacity of the anode end plate 22 is sufficient, the specific fixing method can use a thermosetting resin adhesive, such as phenolic, naphthalene formaldehyde, epoxy, polyurethane, unsaturated polyester, heterocyclic polymer, and the like. The resin adhesive is coated on the side surface of the condenser 221, and is cured at room temperature or high temperature for a period of time, for example, overnight, to ensure safe fixing.

[0027] In another specific embodiment of the above-mentioned photo-anode assisted AEM electrolysis water hydrogen production stack, on the basis of the above-mentioned specific embodiment, it is continued to refer to Figure 1 The light-transmitting portion 21 can further include a second hollow region of the anode insulating plate 23 and a first transparent buffer disposed in the second hollow region. The first transparent buffer can be bonded in the second hollow region by using a thermosetting resin adhesive. Specifically, the anode insulating plate 23 can be made of a material composed of 30% glass fiber and PPS. The shape and size of the second hollow region are preferably consistent with those of the first hollow region of the anode end plate 22, and are preferably consistent with those of the anode flow channel layer 25. In this way, the light transmission rate can be maximized, and the overall strength based on the light transmission can also be maximized. Of course, the shape and size can also be adjusted as needed, which is not limited herein.

[0028] Further, it is continued to refer to Figure 1The light-transmitting part 21 can further include a third hollow area of the anode monopolar plate 24, forming an outer frame that can serve as an electrically conductive, limiting, protective and supporting role. The anode monopolar plate 24 can be preferably a metal anode monopolar plate with a tab, so that the tab can be used to connect an external power source. The third hollow area can be preferably shaped and sized to be consistent with the first and second hollow areas, so that light can pass through the first, second and third hollow areas in sequence, then pass through the anode flow channel layer 25 made of transparent material, and then reach the photocatalytic layer 11 for reaction.

[0029] Further, with continued reference to Figure 1 The light-transmitting part further includes a second transparent buffer 26 in the third hollow area of the anode monopolar plate 24. The second transparent buffer 26 can be bonded in the third hollow area by a thermosetting resin adhesive, and can be preferably made of glass. The first and second transparent buffers 26 can be preferably transparent silicone or EVA buffers, i.e., they can be made of transparent and soft materials such as silicone (90% light transmittance) and ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA, 80% light transmittance), which not only transmit light but also serve as a buffer layer, thereby protecting the anode flow channel layer 25 and other components inside. When external force enters, the buffer layer can absorb the external force, thereby preventing damage to the anode flow channel layer 25 and other components. In addition, the second transparent buffer 26 can be integrated with the first transparent buffer, i.e., the thickness of the transparent buffer can be made larger, so that it can be fixed in the second and third hollow areas at the same time, making the manufacturing process more efficient and the buffering effect better. Of course, this can be selected according to actual needs, and is not limited herein. In another specific implementation, the first and second transparent buffers 26 and the substrate for forming the anode flow channel layer 25 can be an integrated transparent glass, i.e., they can be the same thick transparent glass, on which the anode flow channel layer 25 can be formed, and then a transparent conductive layer can be made, and the transparent glass can be installed in the second and third hollow areas at the same time, with the anode flow channel layer 25 on its surface facing the AEM membrane electrode 1, thereby achieving the dual functions of buffering and protection and substrate by using the transparent glass.

[0030] In another specific embodiment of the above-mentioned photoanode-assisted AEM electrolytic water hydrogen production stack, with continued reference to Figure 2The AEM membrane electrode 1 can include an anion membrane 12, an anode catalyst layer 13, an anode gas diffusion layer 14 and a photocatalytic layer 11 arranged in sequence on the side of the anode part of the anion membrane 12. It should be noted that the anode gas diffusion layer 14 can be made of nickel felt, and the photocatalytic layer 11 can be made on the nickel felt by magnetron sputtering, so that the photocatalytic layer 11 is arranged on the side of the anode part to receive light. In other embodiments, a nickel mesh with a large aperture can be used as the anode gas diffusion layer 14 as a gas passage, and in this case, the photocatalytic layer and the anode catalyst layer can be mixed and then sprayed or transferred together on the anion membrane 12, because the anode gas diffusion layer 14 can transmit light, so that the light can pass through the anode gas diffusion layer 14 to reach the photocatalytic layer to generate holes and electrons, and the electron transfer efficiency is higher because the anode catalyst layer is closer to the anode catalyst layer.

[0031] In further embodiments, with continued reference to Figure 2 , the AEM membrane electrode 1 can further include a cathode catalyst layer 15 and a cathode gas diffusion layer 16 arranged in sequence on the side of the cathode part of the anion membrane 12; with continued reference to Figure 1 , the cathode part 3 can include a cathode end plate 31, a cathode insulating plate 32, a cathode monopolar plate 33 and a cathode flow channel layer 34 arranged in sequence from the outside to the inside. It should be noted that the cathode insulating plate can be made of 30% glass fiber + PPS material, which not only has an insulating function, but also has a buffering function, and can solve the problem of large fastening pressure when the electrolytic cell is stacked, which can crush the monopolar plate.

[0032] The above description of disclosed embodiments enables a person skilled in the art to implement or use the present application. Various modifications to these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present application. Therefore, the present application should not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but should be consistent with the widest scope of principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A photoanode-assisted AEM electrolysis water splitting stack, characterized in that, The AEM membrane electrode assembly comprises an anode part and a cathode part respectively arranged on two sides of the AEM membrane electrode assembly. The anode part comprises a light-transmitting part for allowing external light to reach the photocatalytic layer. The anode part comprises an anode end plate, an anode insulating plate, an anode monopolar plate and an anode flow channel layer arranged in sequence from outside to inside, and the light-transmitting part comprises a first hollow area of the anode end plate.

2. The photoanode-assisted AEM electrolysis water-splitting hydrogen generation stack of claim 1, wherein, The light-transmitting part further comprises a light condenser arranged in the first hollow area of the anode end plate, and the light condenser is fixed to the first hollow area of the anode end plate by means of a thermosetting resin adhesive arranged on the outer circumferential part of the light condenser.

3. The photoanode-assisted AEM electrolysis water-splitting hydrogen generation stack of claim 2, wherein, The light-transmitting part further comprises a second hollow area of the anode insulating plate and a first transparent buffer arranged in the second hollow area and adhered to the second hollow area by means of a thermosetting resin adhesive.

4. The photoanode-assisted AEM electrolyzer for hydrogen production of claim 3, wherein, The light-transmitting part further comprises a third hollow area of the anode monopolar plate.

5. The photoanode assisted AEM electrolyzer for hydrogen production stack of claim 4, wherein, The light-transmitting part further comprises a second transparent buffer arranged in the third hollow area of the anode monopolar plate and adhered to the third hollow area by means of a thermosetting resin adhesive.

6. The photoanode assisted AEM electrolyzer for hydrogen production stack of claim 5, wherein, The anode monopolar plate is a metal anode monopolar plate with a tab.

7. The photoanode assisted AEM electrolyzer for hydrogen production of claim 5, wherein, The first transparent buffer and the second transparent buffer are transparent silica gel buffers or transparent EVA buffers.

8. The photoanode assisted AEM electrolyzer for hydrogen production of claim 6, wherein, The AEM membrane electrode assembly comprises an anion membrane and an anode catalyst layer, an anode gas diffusion layer and the photocatalytic layer arranged in sequence on the side of the anion membrane facing the anode part.

9. The photoanode-assisted AEM electrolysis water-splitting hydrogen generation stack according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, The AEM membrane electrode assembly further comprises a cathode catalyst layer and a cathode gas diffusion layer arranged in sequence on the side of the anion membrane facing the cathode part; and the cathode part comprises a cathode end plate, a cathode insulating plate, a cathode monopolar plate and a cathode flow channel layer arranged in sequence from outside to inside.

10. The photoanode-assisted AEM electrolysis water-splitting hydrogen generation stack of claim 9, wherein, ​

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