Novel Ionomer and Polymer-Electrolyte Membrane Development for Solar-Energy-Driven Carbon Dioxide Conversion

Solar fuels production is necessary for the future of the global economy New highly conductive and stable polymer-electrolytes with low light absorption are required for efficient and cost- effective solar fuels generation Opus 12 will work with Prof Chulsung Bae at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) to further develop the existing polymer-electrolyte chemistry to meet the demands of this challenging application New materials will be synthesized at RPI and sent to Opus 12 where key performance metrics such as conductivity, gas crossover, and mechanical stability will be characterized Polymer-electrolytes will then be tested in Opus 12’s CO2 electrolyzer Results of characterization and performance tests will provide feedback to RPI to guide development Hitting our Phase I targets would allow us to scale up the polymer-electrolytes production in Phase II for use in commercial solar fuels development Utilizing low-cost and abundant solar energy to covert CO2 to fuel and value-added chemicals could positively impact the global carbon balance, reduce air pollution, and create new jobs in regions with few opportunities by distributing production of these materials