Abstract
Porous electrodes govern the electrochemical performance and pumping requirements in redox flow batteries, yet conventional carbon-fiber-based porous electrodes have not been tailored to sustain the requirements of liquid-phase electrochemistry. 3D printing is an effective approach to manufacturing deterministic architectures, enabling the tuning of electrochemical performance and pressure drop. In this work, model grid structures are manufactured with stereolithography 3D printing followed by carbonization and tested as flow battery electrode materials. Microscopy, tomography, spectroscopy, fluid dynamics, and electrochemical diagnostics are employed to investigate the resulting electrode properties, mass transport, and pressure drop of ordered lattice structures. The influence of the printing direction, pillar geometry, and flow field type on the cell performance is investigated and mass transfer vs. electrode structure correlations are elucidated. It is found that the printing direction impacts the electrode performance through a change in morphology, resulting in enhanced performance for diagonally printed electrodes. Furthermore, mass transfer rates within the electrode are improved by helical or triangular pillar shapes or by using interdigitated flow field designs. This study shows the potential of stereolithography 3D printing to manufacture customized electrode scaffolds, which could enable multiscale structures with superior electrochemical performance and low pumping losses.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 2300611 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Advanced Materials Technologies |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue number | 18 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 25 Sept 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:A.F.C. gratefully acknowledges the Dutch Research Council (NWO) through the Talent Research Program Veni (17324) and the 4TU.HTM grant for financial support. The authors are thankful to Vignesh Balasubramanian (Elestor) and Merit Bodner (Technische Universität Graz) for their constructive feedback as user committee members. The authors are thankful to Emre Burak Boz for performing the cyclic voltammetry and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements, and to Rémy Jacquemond and Inmaculada Gimenez‐Garcia (all from Eindhoven University of Technology) for their constructive feedback on the manuscript.
Funding
A.F.C. gratefully acknowledges the Dutch Research Council (NWO) through the Talent Research Program Veni (17324) and the 4TU.HTM grant for financial support. The authors are thankful to Vignesh Balasubramanian (Elestor) and Merit Bodner (Technische Universität Graz) for their constructive feedback as user committee members. The authors are thankful to Emre Burak Boz for performing the cyclic voltammetry and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements, and to Rémy Jacquemond and Inmaculada Gimenez‐Garcia (all from Eindhoven University of Technology) for their constructive feedback on the manuscript. A.F.C. gratefully acknowledges the Dutch Research Council (NWO) through the Talent Research Program Veni (17324) and the 4TU.HTM grant for financial support. The authors are thankful to Vignesh Balasubramanian (Elestor) and Merit Bodner (Technische Universität Graz) for their constructive feedback as user committee members. The authors are thankful to Emre Burak Boz for performing the cyclic voltammetry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements, and to Rémy Jacquemond and Inmaculada Gimenez-Garcia (all from Eindhoven University of Technology) for their constructive feedback on the manuscript.
Keywords
- 3D printing
- carbonization
- electrochemical energy storages
- mass transport
- porous electrodes
- redox flow batteries
- stereolithography