Hybrid microfabrication of 3D pyrolytic carbon electrodes by photolithography and additive manufacturing

Additive manufacturing-derived free-standing 3D pyrolytic carbon electrodes for sustainable microbial electrochemical production of H2O2

Producing H2O2 via microbial electrosynthesis is a cost-effective and environmentally favorable alternative to the costly and environmentally hazardous anthraquinone method. However, most studies have relied on carbon electrodes with two-dimensional (2D) surfaces (e.g., graphite), which have limited surface area and active sites, resulting in suboptimal H2O2 production. In this study, we demonstrate the enhanced efficiency of microbial H2O2 synthesis using three-dimensional (3D) electrodes produced through additive manufacturing technology due to their larger surface area than conventional carbon electrodes with 2D surfaces. This work innovatively combines 3D printed pyrolytic carbon (3D PyrC) electrodes with highly defined outer geometry and internal mesh structures derived from additive manufacturing with high-temperature resin precursors followed by pyrolysis with microbial electrochemical platform technology to achieve efficient H2O2 synthesis. The 3D PyrC electrode produced a maximum of 129.2 mg L-1 of H2O2 in 12 h, which was 2.3-6.9 times greater than conventional electrodes (e.g., graphite and carbon felt). Furthermore, the scalability, reusability and mechanical properties of the 3D PyrC electrode were exemplary, showcasing its practical viability for large-scale applications. Beyond H2O2 synthesis, the study explored the application of the 3D PyrC electrode in the bio-electro-Fenton process, demonstrating its efficacy as a tertiary treatment technology for the removal of micropollutants. This dual functionality underscores the versatility of the 3D PyrC electrode in addressing both the synthesis of valuable chemicals and environmental remediation. This study shows a novel electrode design for efficient, sustainable synthesis of H2O2 and subsequent environmental remediation.

Efficient mode (de)multiplexer with two cascaded horizontal polymer waveguide directional couplers

In this paper, we present an efficient polymer two-mode (de)multiplexer with two cascaded horizontal waveguide asymmetric directional couplers (ADCs). Through extensive simulations, the optimized waveguide core dimensions were determined, and the distance L from the starting position of the first ADC to the cascaded position was 35300 µm. With the cascaded ADCs, the E21x mode of the wider waveguide was coupled into the E11x mode of the narrower waveguide with a coupling ratio of 96.73% at 1550 nm when the separation between the waveguide cores was 5 µm. The coupling ratio and extinction ratio of the fabricated (de)multiplexer reached a maximum of 96.12% and 14.21 dB at 1540 nm, respectively. The coupling ratios were greater than 90% in the wavelength range 1533-1565 nm with a minimum insertion loss of 9.75 dB. The influence of different cascaded positions on the mode coupling ratio, mainly caused by the large phase difference between the modes owing to the slowly varying envelope approximation, is analyzed theoretically and verified experimentally. The proposed cascaded two-mode (de)multiplexer can reduce the preparation process requirements and increase the channel capacity of optical communication systems.