3D Printing for Energy-Based Applications

3D printing has transitioned from the commercial and educational sectors toward tools for materials science. The technologies available for 3D printing have evolved rapidly, facilitating the incorporation of new materials and functionalities into filaments and resins. As the cost of 3D printing decreases, and the technologies supporting high-resolution printing become industry standard, the push toward 4D printing, a subcategory of 3D printing, that enables the fabrication of components through multiple techniques and materials will transform the energy sector. 3D printing is no longer limited to the use of plastics, and the fabrication of metal, graphene, and hybrid architectures for use as electrodes is now possible. Energy storage and fuel cells have made advances using 3D printing-assisted methods to prototype and evaluate innovative designs and compositions. This chapter describes the techniques used to develop 3D-printed batteries looking at the limitations of extrusion-based printing and some of the new ideas that aim to provide low-weight and high-capacity ergonomically designed batteries. This chapter also explores the development of 3D-printed devices for wearable energy storage with a focus on the nanomaterials that have the potential to transform 3D-printed energy-based applications. The chapter will conclude with an overview of some of the emerging technologies for the impact of additive manufacturing techniques in the design of fuel cells and photovoltaics. The methods detailed in this chapter provide an introduction to the principles of energy-based applications supported by 3D printing and the design, the fabrication, and the tailoring of those applications. Further comprehensive information can be found in the references attributed to this chapter