CuCl/HCl Electrolyzer Kinetics for Hydrogen Production Via Cu-Cl Thermochemical Cycle

An investigation of kinetic properties of the CuCl/HCl electrolytic cell verified methods applied in this study to significantly reduce the catalyst loadings required to achieve a current density of 0.5 A/cm2 at 0.7 V. The CuCl/HCl electrolytic cell is a key component of the Cu-Cl thermochemical cycle. The economic viability of the Cu-Cl thermochemical cycle was significantly improved by reducing the platinum loading required to achieve higher current densities. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) were employed to investigate overpotentials of the individual electrodes and the electrolytic cell. A laboratory scale CuCl/HCl electrolytic cell was used to verify that the catalyst loading could be reduced by 68 % and still maintain a current density of 0.5 A/cm2 at 0.7 V.