Abstract

The storage of renewably-generated energy as hydrogen via the electrolysis of water is a fundamental cornerstone of a sustainable hydrogen economy. Conventional electrolysers usually require stable power inputs in order to operate effectively and safely and so may be unsuited to harnessing renewable power, which is often intermittent and diffuse. Decoupled Electrolysis (see, for example: Nature Chem. 2013, 5, 403-409; Science, 2014, 345, 1326-1330; J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2016, 138, 6707–6710; Joule, 2018, 2, 1390-1395; Adv. Energy Mater. 2020, 2002453; Electrochim. Acta, 2020, 331, 135255) has the potential to overcome some of the challenges surrounding electrolysis using low and/or sporadic power inputs (especially those related to gas crossover) as the decoupling of the two half reactions of water splitting allows the oxygen and hydrogen evolution reactions to be performed at different times, in different places and at rates that are not linked to each other. In this talk, we shall give an overview of decoupled electrolysis using liquid redox mediators