Hierarchical Nanoporous Copper Architectures via 3D Printing Technique for Highly Efficient Catalysts

Nanoporous metals represent a class of functional materials with unique bicontinuous open porous structural properties, making them ideal candidates for various catalyst applications. However, the pursuit of nanoporous properties, extremely small pores, and high surface area, results in the restriction of mass transport. Herein, a free-standing hierarchical nanoporous Cu material, prepared by a selective laser melting 3D printing technique and a one-step dealloying process, is presented as a highly efficient electrocatalyst for methanol oxidation. It is demonstrated that the digitally controlled hierarchical structure with macro- and nano-scaled pores can be utilized for promoting and directing mass transport as well as for the enhancement of catalytic properties. This work highlights a facile, low-cost, and alternative strategy for hierarchical nanoporous structure design that can be applied to binary, ternary, and quaternary metal alloys for various functional applications.