3D-Printed Integrated Energy Storage

Additive manufacturing (AM) of conductive materials allows for the use of 3D designs to shrink a device’s footprint while maximizing the electrode surface area and minimizing electrode spacing. 3D printing has the potential to make the most significant impact in capacitor and battery electrode design in which smaller, higher density batteries with arbitrary shapes will be instrumental in the future of electronics. A promising group of materials for 3D printing battery electrodes are carbon allotropes such as graphene, graphite, amorphous carbon, and carbon nanotubes. Carbon electrodes for energy storage are widely studied as the basis for state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries. Carbon as an electrode material is a non-toxic, low-cost, and green commodity alternative to traditional metal electrode materials, and it offers high-density energy storage by operating at high (> 3.0V) cell potentials. The wide range of carbon allotropes also allows for the customization of electrode properties. Many 3D-printing techniques have already been shown to be useful in the fabrication of carbon battery electrodes. We will discuss the current state of 3D-printed carbon materials for batteries, as well as where the potential future of the field of 3D-printed carbon for batteries is leading.