Transparent Bipolar Membrane for Water Splitting Applications
Abstract
This study describes the use of a benzimidazolium-based anion exchange membrane for creating bipolar membranes and the assessment of their suitability for solar-driven water splitting. Bipolar membranes were prepared by laminating anion exchange membrane with Nafion NR-211 membrane without modification of the interface. Under acidic and basic conditions, proton and hydroxide ion conductivities of 103 and 102 mS cm –1 were obtained for Nafion and benzimidazolium-based membranes, respectively. The fabricated bipolar membranes have an average thickness of 90 μm and show high transmittance, up to 75% of the visible light. The findings suggest that the two membranes create a sharp hydrophilic interface with a space charge region of only a few nanometers, thereby generating a large electric field at the interface that enhances water dissociation.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
When an ionomer like Nafion is used as a binder, it improves catalyst utilization through increased ionic connection, but comes at the expense of elevated water content in pores owing to the hydrophilic nature of Nafion.
“When an ionomer like Nafion is used as a binder, it improves catalyst utilization through increased ionic connection, but comes at the expense of elevated water content in pores owing to the hydrophilic nature of Nafion.[181]”
From Electrochemical CO <sub>2</sub> Reduction into Chemical Feedstocks: From Mechanistic Electrocatalysis Models to System Design (2019) · cites this paper as [181]
Supporting carbon materials in fuel cells allow for significantly reduced catalyst loadings and improved performance.
“Supporting carbon materials in fuel cells allow for significantly reduced catalyst loadings and improved performance.[181]”
From Electrochemical CO <sub>2</sub> Reduction into Chemical Feedstocks: From Mechanistic Electrocatalysis Models to System Design (2019) · cites this paper as [181]
Cites
Powering the planet with solar fuel
Gray, H. B. (2009) · Nature Chemistry · doi:10.1038/nchem.141 · Cited by 1,731 · see citing works
Wasielewski, M. R. (2009) · Accounts of Chemical Research · doi:10.1021/ar9001735 · Cited by 1,318 · see citing works
Will Solar-Driven Water-Splitting Devices See the Light of Day?
McKone, J. R., Lewis, N. S., & Gray, H. B. (2013) · Chemistry of Materials · doi:10.1021/cm4021518 · Cited by 714 · see citing works
Conversion of carbohydrate into hydrogen fuel by a photocatalytic process
Kawai, T., & Sakata, T. (1980) · Nature · doi:10.1038/286474a0 · Cited by 682 · see citing works
Exergy analysis of hydrogen production via steam methane reforming
SIMPSON, A., & Lutz, A. E. (2007) · International Journal of Hydrogen Energy · doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2007.08.025 · Cited by 537 · see citing works
Limiting current density and water dissociation in bipolar membranes
Strathmann, H., Krol, J. J., Rapp, H.-J., & Eigenberger, G. (1997) · Journal of Membrane Science · doi:10.1016/s0376-7388(96)00185-8 · Cited by 373 · see citing works
Properties of Nafion® NR-211 membranes for PEMFCs
Péron, J., Mani, A., Zhao, X., Edwards, D., Adachi, M., Soboleva, T., Shi, Z., Xie, Z., Navessin, T., & Holdcroft, S. (2010) · Journal of Membrane Science · doi:10.1016/j.memsci.2010.03.025 · Cited by 350 · see citing works
Self-citationElectrolysis of CO<sub>2</sub> to Syngas in Bipolar Membrane-Based Electrochemical Cells
Li, Y. C., Zhou, D., Yan, Z., Gonçalves, R. H., Salvatore, D. A., Berlinguette, C. P., & Mallouk, T. E. (2016) · ACS Energy Letters · doi:10.1021/acsenergylett.6b00475 · Cited by 313 · see citing works
Verlage, E., Hu, S., Liu, R., Jones, R. J. R., Sun, K., Xiang, C., Lewis, N. S., & Atwater, H. A. (2015) · Energy & Environmental Science · doi:10.1039/c5ee01786f · Cited by 304 · see citing works
Wright, A. G., Fan, J., Britton, B., et al. (2016) · Energy & Environmental Science · doi:10.1039/c6ee00656f · Cited by 273 · see citing works
Self-citationCO 2 separation using bipolar membrane electrodialysis
Eisaman, M. D., Alvarado, L., Larner, D., Wang, P., Garg, B., & Littau, K. A. (2010) · Energy & Environmental Science · doi:10.1039/c0ee00303d · Cited by 263 · see citing works
CO2 extraction from seawater using bipolar membrane electrodialysis
Eisaman, M. D., Parajuly, K., Tuganov, A., Eldershaw, C., Chang, N., & Littau, K. A. (2012) · Energy & Environmental Science · doi:10.1039/c2ee03393c · Cited by 257 · see citing works
Zhou, X., Liu, R., Sun, K., Chen, Y., Verlage, E., Francis, S. A., Lewis, N. S., & Xiang, C. (2016) · ACS Energy Letters · doi:10.1021/acsenergylett.6b00317 · Cited by 204 · see citing works
Hernández-Pagán, E. A., Vargas-Barbosa, N. M., Wang, T., Zhao, Y., Smotkin, E. S., & Mallouk, T. E. (2012) · Energy & Environmental Science · doi:10.1039/c2ee03422k · Cited by 201 · see citing works
Monolithic cells for solar fuels
Rongé, J., Bosserez, T., Martel, D., Nervi, C., Boarino, L., Taulelle, F., Decher, G., Bordiga, S., & Martens, J. A. (2014) · Chemical Society Reviews · doi:10.1039/c3cs60424a · Cited by 198 · see citing works
Harnisch, F., Schröder, U., & Scholz, F. (2008) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es702224a · Cited by 197 · see citing works
Hybrid Anion and Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells
Ünlü, M., Zhou, J., & Kohl, P. A. (2009) · The Journal of Physical Chemistry C · doi:10.1021/jp903252u · Cited by 168 · see citing works
Current-voltage curves of bipolar membranes
Ramı́rez, P., Rapp, H. J., Reichle, S., Strathmann, H., & Mafé, S. (1992) · Journal of Applied Physics · doi:10.1063/1.352124 · Cited by 165 · see citing works
Wright, A. G., & Holdcroft, S. (2014) · ACS Macro Letters · doi:10.1021/mz500168d · Cited by 142 · see citing works
Self-citationSun, K., Liu, R., Chen, Y., Verlage, E., Lewis, N. S., & Xiang, C. (2016) · Advanced Energy Materials · doi:10.1002/aenm.201600379 · Cited by 139 · see citing works
Assessing the Utility of Bipolar Membranes for use in Photoelectrochemical Water‐Splitting Cells
Vargas-Barbosa, N. M., Geise, G. M., Hickner, M. A., & Mallouk, T. E. (2014) · ChemSusChem · doi:10.1002/cssc.201402535 · Cited by 131 · see citing works
Nogi, M., Ifuku, S., Abe, K., Handa, K., Nakagaito, A. N., & Yano, H. (2006) · Applied Physics Letters · doi:10.1063/1.2191667 · Cited by 128 · see citing works
McDonald, M. B., Ardo, S., Lewis, N. S., & Freund, M. S. (2014) · ChemSusChem · doi:10.1002/cssc.201402288 · Cited by 128 · see citing works
Self-citationVermaas, D. A., Sassenburg, M., & Smith, W. A. (2015) · Journal of Materials Chemistry A · doi:10.1039/c5ta06315a · Cited by 120 · see citing works
Spurgeon, J. M., Walter, M. G., Zhou, J., Kohl, P. A., & Lewis, N. S. (2011) · Energy & Environmental Science · doi:10.1039/c1ee01028j · Cited by 104 · see citing works
Ion transport through electrolyte/polyelectrolyte multi-layers
Femmer, R., Mani, A., & Weßling, M. (2015) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/srep11583 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
A novel method for preparing bipolar membranes
Simons, R. (1986) · Electrochimica Acta · doi:10.1016/0013-4686(86)80130-x · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Bipolar membranes under forward and reverse bias conditions. Theory vs. experiment
Ramı́rez, P., Rapp, H., Mafé, S., & Bauer, B. (1994) · Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry · doi:10.1016/0022-0728(94)03379-x · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Chen, Y., Lewis, N. S., & Xiang, C. (2015) · Energy & Environmental Science · doi:10.1039/c5ee02908b · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Fu, R., Xue, Y., Xu, T., et al. (2005) · Journal of Colloid and Interface Science · doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2004.11.050 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Designing electronic/ionic conducting membranes for artificial photosynthesis
McFarlane, S. L., Day, B. A., McEleney, K., Freund, M. S., & Lewis, N. S. (2011) · Energy & Environmental Science · doi:10.1039/c0ee00384k · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Self-citationA model for the enhanced water dissociation on monopolar membranes
Danielsson, C., DAHLKILD, A. A., Velin, A., et al. (2008) · Electrochimica Acta · doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2008.12.025 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Reduced Graphene Oxide Bipolar Membranes for Integrated Solar Water Splitting in Optimal pH
McDonald, M. B., Bruce, J. P., McEleney, K., & Freund, M. S. (2015) · ChemSusChem · doi:10.1002/cssc.201500538 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Self-citationBipolar Membrane Electrodialysis
Tanaka, Y. (2015) · Ion Exchange Membranes · doi:10.1016/b978-0-444-63319-4.00017-1 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Hwang, U.-S., & Choi, J. (2005) · Separation and Purification Technology · doi:10.1016/j.seppur.2004.11.014 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Holdik, H., Alcaraz, A., Ramı́rez, P., et al. (1998) · Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry · doi:10.1016/s0022-0728(97)00506-8 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Nonequilibrium hysteresis and Wien effect water dissociation at a bipolar membrane
Conroy, D. T., Craster, R. V., Matar, O. K., et al. (2012) · Physical Review E · doi:10.1103/physreve.86.056104 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Preparation and Characterization of Ion-Exchange Membranes
(2004) · Membrane science and technology/Membrane science and technology series · doi:10.1016/s0927-5193(04)80034-2 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Polyphosphonium-based bipolar membranes for rectification of ionic currents
Gabrielsson, E. O., & Berggren, M. (2013) · Biomicrofluidics · doi:10.1063/1.4850795 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Electrochemical Reduction of Dissolved Oxygen in Alkaline, Solid Polymer Electrolyte Films
Novitski, D., Kosakian, A., Weissbach, T., et al. (2016) · Journal of the American Chemical Society · doi:10.1021/jacs.6b09217 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Lebedev, K., Mafé, S., Alcaraz, A., et al. (2000) · Chemical Physics Letters · doi:10.1016/s0009-2614(00)00732-6 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Electrochemical Water Splitting at Bipolar Interfaces of Ion Exchange Membranes and Soils
Desharnais, B. M., & Lewis, B. A. G. (2002) · Soil Science Society of America Journal · doi:10.2136/sssaj2002.1518 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Higa, M., Tanioka, A., & Kira, A. (1997) · The Journal of Physical Chemistry B · doi:10.1021/jp9637587 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Ion Exchange Membrane Processes
Wallace, R. M. (2002) · doi:10.2172/804675 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Transparency enhancement in semicrystalline PEEK through variation of polymer morphology
Jar, P. ‐. B., & Shanks, R. A. (1996) · Journal of Polymer Science Part B Polymer Physics · doi:10.1002/(sici)1099-0488(199603)34:4 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Kibria, M. G., Edwards, J. P., Gabardo, C. M., Dinh, C., Seifitokaldani, A., Sinton, D., & Sargent, E. H. (2019) · Advanced Materials · doi:10.1002/adma.201807166 · Cited by 1,331 · see citing works
- Authors
- Chabi, S., Wright, A. G., Holdcroft, S., & Freund, M. S.
- Affiliations
- Florida Institute of Technology (US)
- Simon Fraser University (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Holdcroft, Steven
- Freund, Michael S.
- Venue
- ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2017-08-01
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 32
- Pages
- 26749-26755
- ISSN
- 1944-8244 (ISSN-L)
- 1944-8252
- OpenAlex
- W2741461649
- Cited by
- 49
- References
- 45
- Citations by year
- 2025: 4 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 3
- FWCI
- 2.22
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Division of Chemistry (CHE-1305124)
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Membrane-based Ion Separation Techniques
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Fuel Cells and Related Materials
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Water Science and Technology › Membrane Separation Technologies
- Keywords
- bipolar membranes, anion exchange membranes, benzimidazolium, solar water splitting, proton conductivity, hydroxide conductivity, visible transmittance, hydrophilic interfaces, depletion region, water dissociation
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review