3D Printing of Electrochemical Energy Storage Devices

Three-dimensional printing offers precise control over electrode architecture, enabling high-performance energy storage devices tailored to form factor and mechanical properties. Recent advances in additive manufacturing, including fused deposition modelling, direct ink writing and stereolithography, have enabled fabrication of electrodes and full cells with complex geometries, hierarchical porous structures and integrated functionalities. Materials span from graphene-based filaments to MXene composites, metal oxides and polymeric scaffolds. The approach addresses challenges in electrode design: maximising areal and volumetric energy density, enhancing ion transport, reducing dead volume and enabling flexible and compressible architectures for wearable electronics. Integration of active materials and current collectors in a one-shot process reduces assembly steps and cost. Such devices have been demonstrated in lithium-ion batteries, supercapacitors and hybrid systems with applications in portable electronics, electric vehicles and grid storage. The capacity to programme electrode infill, interdigitated or lattice architectures supports performance optimisation through computational simulation and machine learning. As the field matures, scalable fabrication of sustainable inks and rigorous control of printing parameters will be essential for industrial translation and broad deployment.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have exploited three-dimensional printing to create novel graphene-based electrodes for energy storage. One approach developed conductive graphene/polylactic acid filaments that can be extruded via fused deposition modelling to produce customised disc electrodes. These freestanding architectures serve as both anode in lithium-ion cells and solid-state supercapacitor, obviating separate current collectors. Another investigation demonstrated in situ assembly of interdigitated thin-film supercapacitors and hybrid batteries within open-cell aerogel substrates, yielding compressible devices with stable capacitance and capacity even under mechanical deformation. A further effort integrated lithium iron phosphate and graphite into printable filaments to fabricate complete lithium-ion battery cells in a single process. By optimising filler loading and filament composition, printed cells achieved competitive electrochemical performance and showcased the potential for design-driven energy devices.

3D Printing of Electrochemical Energy Storage Devices publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in 3d printing of electrochemical energy storage devices across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Additive Manufacturing (AM): Layer-by-layer fabrication of three-dimensional objects from digital models, enabling customised device geometries.

Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM): A technique in which thermoplastic filament is heated and extruded through a nozzle to build structures layer by layer.

Direct Ink Writing (DIW): An extrusion-based method that deposits viscoelastic inks to form customised architectures, often used for functional materials.

Interdigitated Electrode: A configuration where alternating fingers of anode and cathode interweave to maximise active surface area and minimise ion transport distances.

Microsupercapacitor: A miniaturised supercapacitor device, typically fabricated on a chip or flexible substrate, offering high power density in compact form.

MXene: A class of two-dimensional transition metal carbides and nitrides noted for high conductivity, surface functionality and mechanical stability.

References

1. 3D Printed Graphene Based Energy Storage Devices. Scientific Reports (2017).
2. Self-assembled three-dimensional and compressible interdigitated thin-film supercapacitors and batteries. Nature Communications (2015).
3. Three-Dimensional Printing of a LiFePO4/Graphite Battery Cell via Fused Deposition Modeling. Scientific Reports (2019).
4. Aqueous Inks of Pristine Graphene for 3D Printed Microsupercapacitors with High Capacitance. ACS Nano (2021).
5. 3D Printing of NiCoP/Ti3C2 MXene Architectures for Energy Storage Devices with High Areal and Volumetric Energy Density. Nano-Micro Letters (2020).
6. 3D printing‐enabled advanced electrode architecture design. Carbon Energy (2021).