Three dimensional printing of components and functional devices for energy and environmental applications

Abstract

Three dimensional printing technologies represent a revolution in the manufacturing sector because of their unique capabilities for increasing shape complexity while reducing waste material, capital cost and design for manufacturing. However, the application of 3D printing technologies for the fabrication of functional components or devices is still an almost unexplored field due to their elevated complexity from the materials and functional points of view. This paper focuses on reviewing previous studies devoted to developing 3D printing technologies for the fabrication of functional parts and devices for energy and environmental applications. The use of 3D printing technologies in these sectors is of special interest since the related devices usually involve expensive advanced materials such as ceramics or composites, which present strong limitations in shape and functionality when processed with classical manufacturing methods. Recent advances regarding the implementation of 3D printing for energy and environmental applications will bring competitive advantages in terms of performance, product flexibility and cost, which will drive a revolution in this sector. Broader contextIntensive research on additive manufacturing has been carried out during the last three decades to allow the fabrication of three dimensional objects by assembling materials without the use of tools or molds. Three dimensional printing technologies represent a potentially low-cost, new paradigm for the manufacture of energy conversion technologies offering unique capabilities in terms of shape/geometry complexity and enhancement of specific performance per unit of mass and volume of the 3D printed units. However, the fabrication of highly complex devices for the energy sector by using 3D printing is an almost unexplored field. In this work we review the state of the art of 3D printing technology to fabricate components or devices for energy and environmental applications, focusing on aspects related to the control of the microstructure, functionality and performance of the 3D printed structures.

A lung-inspired approach to scalable and robust fuel cell design

“…These limitations can be circumvented through the exploitation of 3D printing via Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS), which is used to create 3D objects from successive layers of sintered stainless steel. 31,32 Three flow-fields with N = 3, 4 and 5 were fabricated and assembled in PEFCs and their performance compared against conventional, serpentine flow-field based PEFCs. Details of the experimental procedure are available in the ESI † (Section S2).…”

Three-dimensional printed yttria-stabilized zirconia self-supported electrolytes for solid oxide fuel cell applications

“…In this sense, the ability of printing high aspect ratio YSZ parts combined with functional self-supported dense layers is considered crucial for the development of monolithic SOFC devices [12]. In this study, joint-less 3 mol % Yttria-stabilized Zirconia (3YSZ) membranes were printed by stereolithography [31] for being employed as electrolytes in SOFCs.…”

“…Among other, 3D printing technologies including selective laser sintering (SLS) [13], direct [14] and indirect [15] inkjet printing (DIP and IIP) and stereolithography (SLA) [16] have been used so far for the fabrication of functional ceramic devices. In particular, the reader is referred to the review by Ruiz-Morales et al [12] on the most recent developments of 3D printing of ceramics in the field of energy and, more specifically, for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells applications. As compiled by Ruiz-Morales et al [12], a series of pioneering works focused on individually printing functional ceramics of interest for their particular application in SOFCs have been recently published [17]- [27].…”

“…In particular, the reader is referred to the review by Ruiz-Morales et al [12] on the most recent developments of 3D printing of ceramics in the field of energy and, more specifically, for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells applications. As compiled by Ruiz-Morales et al [12], a series of pioneering works focused on individually printing functional ceramics of interest for their particular application in SOFCs have been recently published [17]- [27]. Regarding the electrolyte, several of these studies have been devoted to the fabrication of dense yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) layers with a thickness below 10 μm onto different porous and dense substrates.…”

Ceramic-Based 3D Printed Supports for Photocatalytic Treatment of Wastewater

“…Until the past few years, this type of technology has been restricted to medium-and big-sized is a layer-by-layer process of depositing liquid binder onto thin layers of powder to create a 3D object [17].…”