Data underlying the publication: An Advanced Guide to Assembly and Operation of CO2 Electrolyzers

In 2019 our research group provided an “introductory guide” to the assembly and operation of gas-diffusion electrodes for electrochemical CO2 reduction that acted as a starting point for researchers to shift from aqueous-fed reactants in H-cells to gas-fed reactants using gas-diffusion layers. At the time, we discussed the operational intricacies of rudimentary flow cells utilized at the time. The guide included cell assembly and operational details in the form of pictures and videos. In the past few years, however, substantial advancements have been made in the research field with regards to lab protocols, equipment, and product measurements that warrants an updated guide. Further, the previous guide did not discuss zero-gap membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) in detail, which have now achieved widespread adoption in CO2electrolysis due to their cell simplicity and reduced ohmic losses. We then believe that the field would benefit from an updated “advanced guide” to the assembly and operation of gas-diffusion layers systems for the electrochemical reduction of CO2.

2019年，我们研究团队曾发布一份面向电化学二氧化碳还原（electrochemical CO₂ reduction）用气扩散电极（gas-diffusion electrodes）组装与操作的入门指南，为研究者从H型电解池（H-cells）的水相反应物体系转向采用气体扩散层（gas-diffusion layers）的气相反应物体系提供了起步参考。彼时，我们还探讨了当时所使用的简易流动池的操作细节与核心要点。该指南以图片与视频的形式，详述了电解池的组装与操作流程。然而在过去数年中，该研究领域在实验规程、仪器设备与产物检测等方面已取得长足进展，亟需一份更新后的指南。此外，旧版指南未详细阐述零间隙膜电极组件（zero-gap membrane electrode assemblies, MEAs）——这类组件凭借其电解池结构简洁、欧姆损耗（ohmic losses）更低的优势，如今已在二氧化碳电解领域得到广泛应用。因此我们确信，本领域亟需一份针对电化学二氧化碳还原用气扩散层系统的进阶指南，以助力相关研究的进一步发展。