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Alkaline water electrolysis is a mature and cost-effective technology for hydrogen production. By using wind or solar derived energy, the hydrogen produced is a promising approach to replace fossil fuels and establish a net-zero-emission-industry [1]. However, by blocking electrocatalytic sites the generated bubbles cause significant losses in terms of increased overpotential and ohmic resistance losses [2,3]. Therefore, the study of bubble dynamics on porous electrodes commonly used in industrial electrolyzers is essential to improve the overall efficiency of alkaline electrolysis.

In the present study, a novel three electrode cell is introduced to perform parametric studies of H2 evolution on porous electrodes [4]. For this purpose, electrochemical methods are combined with high-speed optical measurements to characterize the electrodes in terms of electrochemical active surface areas (ECSA), bubble size distribution and electrode coverage. The performance of the electrode can then be derived as a function of current density and applied electrolyte flow rate.

References
[1] L. Lüke and A. Zschocke, Alkaline Water Electrolysis: Efficient Bridge to CO2 -Emission-Free Economy, Chem. Ing. Tech., 92 (2020) 70–73.
[2] A. Angulo et al., Influence of Bubbles on the Energy Conversion Efficiency of Electrochemical Reactors, Joule 4 (2020) 555-579.
[3] J.R. Lake et al., Impact of Bubbles on Electrochemically Active Surface Area of Microtextured Gas-Evolving Electrodes, Langmuir 38 (2022) 3276-3283.
[4] H. Rox et al., Bubble size distribution and electrode coverage at porous nickel electrodes in a novel 3-electrode flow-through cell, Int. J. Hydrog. Energy 48 (2023) 2892-2905.