Abstract: Herein discussed is a method of producing carbon monoxide comprising: (a) providing an electrochemical reactor having an anode, a cathode, and a membrane between the anode and the cathode; (b) introducing a first stream to the anode, wherein the first stream comprises a fuel; and (c) introducing a second stream to the cathode, wherein the second stream comprises carbon dioxide, and wherein carbon monoxide is generated from carbon dioxide electrochemically; wherein the reactor comprises no interconnect and no current collector; wherein the reactor generates no electricity and receives no electricity; and wherein the reactor is operated at a temperature no higher than 750° C. In an embodiment, the reactor is operated at a temperature no higher than 700° C. or no higher than 650° C.

Abstract: An electrochemical reactor includes an anode, a cathode, and a membrane between and in contact with the anode and the cathode, wherein the anode or the cathode forms a fluid passage having an inlet and an outlet, wherein the surface area of the fluid passage in contact with the anode or cathode is at least 25 times of the combined cross-sectional area of the inlet and the outlet. Further discussed herein is an electrochemical reactor comprising an anode, a cathode, and a membrane between and in contact with the anode and the cathode, wherein the anode or the cathode forms a fluid passage having an inlet and an outlet, wherein a tortuosity of the fluid passage is no less than 10, wherein tortuosity is the ratio of fluid flow path length to the straight distance between the inlet and the outlet.

Abstract: A reactor assembly includes a multiplicity of electrochemical reactors, wherein each of the electrochemical reactors comprises an anode, a cathode, and a membrane between and in contact with the anode and the cathode, wherein the anode or the cathode forms a fluid passage having an inlet and an outlet, wherein the surface area of the fluid passage in contact with the anode or cathode is at least 25 times of the combined cross-sectional area of the inlet and the outlet; wherein the minimum distance between the reactors is no greater than 2 cm; and wherein the reactors have no interconnects and no direct contact with one another.

Abstract: Herein discussed is a method of making an electrochemical device comprising (a) infiltrating an anode precursor, a cathode precursor, and an electrolyte precursor with a dispersion to produce an infiltrated anode precursor, an infiltrated cathode precursor, and an infiltrated electrolyte precursor, wherein the dispersion comprises metal ions and nanoparticles selected from the group consisting of metallic nanoparticles, metal-oxide nanoparticles, ceramic nanoparticles, and combinations thereof; wherein the metal ions percolate each precursor, wherein the anode precursor, the cathode precursor, and the electrolyte precursor are porous, the electrolyte precursor having an average pore size that is 50% or less of an average pore size of the anode precursor and that is 50% or less of an average pore size of the cathode precursor; and (b) co-sintering the infiltrated anode precursor, the infiltrated cathode precursor, and the infiltrated electrolyte precursor such that the infiltrated anode precursor becomes a por

Abstract: Herein discussed is a method of making a copper-containing electrode comprising: (a) forming a copper solution; (b) forming a ceramic substrate; (c) infiltrating the ceramic substrate with the copper solution; and (d) calcining the infiltrated substrate using electromagnetic radiation, wherein the substrate is no thicker than 50 microns. In an embodiment, the method comprises repeating (c) and (d) until copper percolates the ceramic substrate.

Abstract: Microfluidics sensor devices having an array of smart polymer hydrogel features for resistive channel analyte sensing via hydrogel swelling and de-swelling, and methods of manufacturing and using the same. Inexpensive, rapid-responsive, point-of-use sensors for monitoring disease biomarkers or environmental contaminants in, for example, drinking water, employ smart polymer hydrogels as recognition elements that can be tailored to detect almost any target analyte. Fabrication involves mask-templated UV photopolymerization to produce an array of smart hydrogel pillars, with large surface area-to-volume ratios, inside sub-millimeter channels located on microfluidics devices. The pillars swell or shrink upon contact aqueous solutions containing a target analyte, thereby changing the resistance of the microfluidic channel to ionic current flow when a bias voltage is applied to the system. Hence resistance measurements can be used to transduce hydrogel swelling changes into electrical signals.