Issue 9, 2014

3D printed flow plates for the electrolysis of water: an economic and adaptable approach to device manufacture

Abstract

The electrolysis of water is considered a promising route to the production of hydrogen from renewable energy sources. Electrolysers based on proton exchange membranes (PEMs) have a number of advantages including high current density, high product gas purity and the ability to operate at high pressure. Despite these advantages the high cost of such devices is an impediment to their widespread deployment. A principal factor in this cost are the materials and machining of flow plates for distribution of the liquid reagents and gaseous products in the electrochemical cell. We demonstrate the production and operation of a PEM electrolyser constructed from silver coated 3D printed components fabricated from polypropylene. This approach allows construction of light weight, low cost electrolysers and the rapid prototyping of flow field design. Furthermore we provide data on the operation of this electrolyser wherein we show that performance is excellent for a first generation device in terms of overall efficiency, internal resistances and current–voltage response. This development opens the door to the fabrication of light weight and cheap electrolysers as well as related electrochemical devices such as flow batteries and fuel cells.

Graphical abstract: 3D printed flow plates for the electrolysis of water: an economic and adaptable approach to device manufacture

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
08 May 2014
Accepted
24 Jun 2014
First published
24 Jun 2014
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Energy Environ. Sci., 2014,7, 3026-3032

3D printed flow plates for the electrolysis of water: an economic and adaptable approach to device manufacture

G. Chisholm, P. J. Kitson, N. D. Kirkaldy, L. G. Bloor and L. Cronin, Energy Environ. Sci., 2014, 7, 3026 DOI: 10.1039/C4EE01426J

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements