Innovative anode porous transport layers for polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolyzers

Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Water Electrolyzers (PEMWEs) attract significant attention for producing green hydrogen. However, their widespread application remains hindered by high production costs. This study develops cost-effective and high-performance 3D-printed gyroid structures as porous transport layers (PTLs) for the anode of PEMWEs. Experimental results demonstrate that the PTL's structure critically influences its performance, which depends on its design. Among the four gyroid structures evaluated, the G10 electrode exhibited the best performance in electrochemical tests conducted under various ex-situ conditions simulating real-world operation. Furthermore, the 3D-printed G10 electrode undergoes Pt coating and is compared with commercially available PTLs. The commercial PTL (C3) shows a current density of 138.488 mA cm^-2, whereas the G10-1.00 μm Pt electrode achieves a significantly higher current density of 584.692 mA cm^-2 at 1.9 V. The gyroid structure is a promising avenue for developing high-energy and low-cost PEMWEs and other related technologies.