Abstract
An electrochemical oxygen separator based on oxygen reduction at an air cathode and oxygen evolution at an anode has been developed. The device features use of an ion-exchange membrane (Nafion 117) as the sole electrolyte and an air cathode mainly made of carbon.
The anode was formed by chemically plating platinum (3.7 mgcm−2) on one side of the Nafion 117 membrane. The air cathode was bonded to the other side of the membrane by spraying a slurry of graphitized furnace black loaded with platinum, followed by hot-pressing. The addition of a Nafion solution and a PTFE dispersion to the slurry was essential. The ultimate loading of platinum for the cathode was 0.2 mg cm−2. An electrochemical oxygen separator with a working area of 100 cm2 was constructed. When the separator was used as an oxygen concentrator it could be operated at 200 mA cm−2 and produced 70.9 cm3 min−1 of oxygen with a purity of 98.4%. When the separator was used as a circulation-type oxygen removal system it reduced the oxygen concentration of a 10-dm3 chamber to less than 0.02% within 70min. When the separator was used as a flow-through-type oxygen remover, air with an oxygen concentration of 0.02% was produced at 100 cm3 min−1.
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Fujita, Y., Nakamura, H. & Muto, T. An electrochemical oxygen separator using an ion-exchange membrane as the electrolyte. J Appl Electrochem 16, 935–940 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01006541
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01006541