Generation of H₂ and O₂ from untreated water sources represents a promising alternative to ultrapure water required in contemporary proton exchange membrane-based electrolysis. Bipolar membrane-based devices, often used in electrodialysis and CO₂ electrolysis, facilitate impure water electrolysis via the simultaneous mediation of ion transport and enforcement of advantageous microenvironments. Herein, we report their application in direct seawater electrolysis; we show that upon introduction of ionic species such as Na⁺ and Cl⁻ from seawater, bipolar membrane electrolyzers limit the oxidation of Cl⁻ to corrosive OCl⁻ at the anode to a Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 0.005%, while proton exchange membrane electrolyzers under comparable operating conditions exhibit up to 10% FE to Cl⁻ oxidation. The effective mitigation of Cl⁻ oxidation by bipolar membrane electrolyzers underpins their ability to enable longer-term seawater electrolysis than proton exchange membrane assemblies by a factor of 140, suggesting a path to durable seawater electrolysis.

从未经处理的水源中生成 H ₂和 O _{2代表了当代基于质子交换膜的电解所需的超纯水的有前途的替代品。}通常用于电渗析和 CO _{2电解的基于双极膜的装置}通过同时调节离子传输和加强有利的微环境来促进不纯水的电解。在此，我们报道了它们在直接海水电解中的应用；我们表明，在从海水中引入 Na ⁺和 Cl ^{-等离子物质后，双极膜电解槽会限制 Cl -}氧化为腐蚀性 OCl ^-在阳极的法拉第效率 (FE) 为 0.005%，而在类似操作条件下的质子交换膜电解槽表现出高达 10% 的 FE 至 Cl ^-氧化。^{双极膜电解槽对 Cl -}氧化的有效缓解增强了它们实现比质子交换膜组件 140 倍的更长期海水电解的能力，这表明了持久海水电解的途径。