Tuesday, 31 May 2022: 15:50
West Meeting Room 217 (Vancouver Convention Center)
Novel and established electrochemical reactions come with unwanted heat generation of 30-50% of the inputted power due to cell inefficiencies. Here we seek to use these inefficiencies as a measure of spatial electrochemical activity by taking advantage of the link between heat generation and the activity-dependent transport of electrons and ions. To this end we use data from an infrared camera positioned at the back of a gas-diffusion electrode in an attempt to develop a 'thermal potentiostat' which provides spatial resolution of electrochemical activity. After a proof-of-concept is displayed for the technique, we present several applications of the technology including catalyst screening, spatial-temporal catalyst measurements and the impact of exothermic CO2-hydroxide interactions during CO2 electrolysis. Combined we find that a spatial-thermal potentiostat has numerous uses for both novel and established electrochemical reactions towards the production of renewable fuels and feedstocks.
