Modification of Low-Cost 3D Printed Electrodes with Noble Metals

The ability to use fused fluid fabrication (FFF) 3D printing to generate electrochemical cells and electrodes has increased electrochemistry's accessibility of electrochemistry. Much of the research on FFF 3D printed electrodes has utilized conductive carbon-based composite materials. While these materials have shown tremendous potential in a variety of applications, the conductivity and composition of these composite electrodes is still a limiting factor. In some cases, modification of FFF 3D printed parts with nickel has dramatically improved the conductivity, though nickel has limited stability in some chemical environments. Here we demonstrate our recent progress in modifying nickel-based electrodes with noble metals using both electroless deposition and electrodeposition. The noble metal thin films were evaluated using a combination of gravimetric, microscopic, spectroscopic, and electrochemical methods. Results demonstrate that the conditions during the noble metal deposition have a profound effect on the properties of the resulting electrode, likely due to the stability issues of the underlying 3D-printed electrode. Further optimization will result in the ability to generate custom electrode geometries coated with thin films of noble metals at low cost using widely available 3D printing techniques. Such flexibility in fabrication methods will continue to advance the ways electrochemistry is employed in academic and research environments.