A Porous La0.5sr0.5feo3-Δ Anode Decorated with V2o5 Nanoparticles Enables High Efficiency Electrochemical Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Ethane to Ethylene

Abstract

While oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane (ODE) has garnered significant attention due to its value-added ethylene product, the ethylene selectivity still requires further improvement for practical applications. Here, we report our findings on the simultaneous electrochemical ODE at the anode and CO₂ electrolysis at the cathode of a solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) using La0.5Sr0.5FeO3-δ (LSF) electrodes decorated with V2O5 nanoparticles. When properly optimized, the LSF-V2O5 electrode exhibits remarkable electrocatalytic activity for both ODE and CO₂ reduction, achieving an ethylene selectivity of 92.9%, the highest value reported in the literature. The excellent electrocatalytic activity of the LSF-V2O5 electrode is attributed mainly to the abundant oxygen vacancies generated at the LSF/V2O5 interface of the anode, creating numerous active sites for ethane adsorption/activation and ODE reaction. Moreover, a large number of oxygen vacancies generated at the LSF/V2O5 interface of the cathode facilitate CO2 adsorption and electrolysis, producing O2- ions that move through the electrolyte to the anode, where they serve as the oxidant for the ODE reaction. The coordination of the two reactions greatly enhances the kinetics of ethane adsorption and dehydrogenation, eventually leading to high ethylene selectivity.

Keywords: Solid oxide electrolysis cells, Oxidative dehydrogenation ethane, Oxygen activity, Ethylene, infiltration