Streaming Potential Boosted Efficient Hydrogen Production by Microfluidic Electrochemical Systems

Abstract

The use of streaming potential in chemical production with microfluidic devices offers a promising approach to reducing energy consumption. This study explored H₂ generation through the combined use of applied voltage and streaming potential in a microfluidic system. The microfluidic system with two platinum electrodes embedded in a microchannel was designed to explore the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and quantitative analysis was performed using the device with a liquid/gas loop system. The prepared microfluidic device demonstrated that the reduction current increased with flow rate when using an HCl aqueous solution. The results showed an increase in H₂ production efficiency by up to 23 % compared to a static state, which can be attributed to the streaming potential. Enhancing chemical production efficiency through streaming potentials could contribute to establishing an innovative chemical production process using microfluidic devices.