A 3D-Printed Electrochemical Water Splitting Cell

3D printing offers an attractive approach in fabricating complex designs across a wide range of materials to meet the functional requirements of targeted applications. In this study, the surface-patterned metallic electrodes are printed and integrated with custom built reaction vessels produced via a polymer-based 3D printing approach to create a complete electrochemical cell. It is shown that metallic electrodes with conical surface structures can be printed from Ti and Ni. In addition to conventional flat electrodes, the design can be tailor-made to any desirable geometry such as a curved structure. The transformation of inactive Ti electrodes with the deposition of an active catalyst can be readily obtained by electrodeposition to enhance the electrode functionality. A new design of fully printed compartmented electrochemical cell with both anode and cathode facing outward, separated by a Nafion membrane, enabling the water oxidation and proton reduction reactions to occur in their respective compartments is fabricated.