Danielle Salvatore

My research is focused on designing and optimizing an electrolyzer that converts CO2 into a useful fuel. In the current state of technology, for industrial-scale CO2 electroreduction to produce low-carbon fuels, the major limitations seem to be rapid catalyst degradation and slow CO2 transfer to the electrode surface, both of which can be related to the reactor design. It is believed that catalyst degradation is mainly related to the material itself but also to its operating environment. Besides improving the catalyst material’s stability, improving the reactor design to optimize the operating conditions is also important for performance. Innovative designs for flow plates, gas diffusion electrodes, and electrolyte membrane-based electrochemical cells will be explored in order to reduce internal resistance, improve the reactant mass transfer process, and maintain cell stability.