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Use of Bipolar Membranes for Maintaining Steady‐State pH Gradients in Membrane‐Supported, Solar‐Driven Water Splitting
Author(s) -
McDonald Michael B.,
Ardo Shane,
Lewis Nathan S.,
Freund Michael S.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
chemsuschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.412
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1864-564X
pISSN - 1864-5631
DOI - 10.1002/cssc.201402288
Subject(s) - membrane , water splitting , steady state (chemistry) , chemistry , chemical engineering , materials science , chemical physics , nanotechnology , catalysis , photocatalysis , engineering , organic chemistry , biochemistry
A bipolar membrane can maintain a steady‐state pH difference between the sites of oxidation and reduction in membrane‐supported, solar‐driven water‐splitting systems without changing the overall thermodynamics required to split water. A commercially available bipolar membrane that can serve this purpose has been identified, its performance has been evaluated quantitatively, and is demonstrated to meet the requirements for this application. For effective utilization in integrated solar‐driven water‐splitting systems, such bipolar membranes must, however, be modified to simultaneously optimize their physical properties such as optical transparency, electronic conductivity and kinetics of water dissociation.