Tunable Product Selectivity on Nano-engineered Protonic-Ceramic Electrocatalysts for In-Situ Resource Utilization

With the goal of planets like Mars in sight for exploration, the reduction of launch mass and mission cost through in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) will be critical to expand the capabilities and activities of future space missions. Mars CO2 rich atmosphere and water ice reserves at craters and polar caps could provide the necessary inputs to ISRU technology. Protonic ceramic electrolysis cells (PCECs) are a promising route to electrochemically convert CO2 and H2O to high-value mission consumables (i.e. CO, H2, CH4, O2) due to their improved energy efficiency and product variety. While significant research efforts have focused on the electrolyte materials of PCEC's, development of high performance (i.e. active, selective, and stable) electrocatalysts and understanding of their reaction chemistry has lagged behind. To realize the development of PCECs capable of producing resources with tunable selectivity, it will be necessary to study and optimize the electrocatalytic interfaces at which electrochemical reactions occur. Herein, I propose the engineering of well-defined, robust CO2RR electrocatalysts by controlling nanoparticle composition, geometry, and distribution to target activity, selectivity, and stability. Physiochemical and electrochemical analysis techniques will be used to understand and quantify electrocatalytic performance. In combination mechanistic studies will be performed using in-situ vibrational spectroscopy and density functional theory to gain atomistic insights into the reaction chemistry governing CO2 reduction and to identify the design principles that result in high-performance electrocatalysts. The knowledge gained from these learnings will contribute to the design of at-scale electrolyzers that aim to advance electrochemical space technology towards the Space Mission Technology Directorate's envisioned futures in ISRU.

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