Issue

Vol. 17 (2025)

3D-Printed Boron-Nitrogen Doped Carbon Electrodes for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment via MPECVD

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-025-01827-9
Iwona Kaczmarzyk
Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics, Gdansk University of Technology, 11/12 Gabriela Narutowicza Street, 80‑233 Gdańsk, Poland
Malgorzata Szopińska
Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, 11/12 Gabriela Narutowicza Street, 80‑233 Gdansk, Poland
Patryk Sokołowski
Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics, Gdansk University of Technology, 11/12 Gabriela Narutowicza Street, 80‑233 Gdańsk, Poland
Simona Sabbatini
Department of Science and Engineering of Matter, Environment and Urban Planning (SIMAU) , Università Politecnica delle Marche, INSTM Research Unit, Via Brecce Bianche 12, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Gabriel Strugala
Department of Materials Science and Technology, Institute of Manufacturing and Materials Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Ship Technology, Gdańsk University of Technology, 11/12 Gabriela Narutowicza Street, 80‑233 Gdansk, Poland
Jacek Ryl
Division of Electrochemistry and Surface Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Applied Physics and Mathematics, Gdańsk University of Technology, Narutowicza 11/12, 80‑233 Gdansk, Poland
Gianni Barucca
Department of Science and Engineering of Matter, Environment and Urban Planning (SIMAU) , Università Politecnica delle Marche, INSTM Research Unit, Via Brecce Bianche 12, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Per Falås
Division of Chemical Engineering, Department of Process and Life Science Engineering, Lund University, PO Box 124, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
Robert Bogdanowicz
Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics, Gdansk University of Technology, 11/12 Gabriela Narutowicza Street, 80‑233 Gdańsk, Poland
Mattia Pierpaoli
Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics, Gdansk University of Technology, 11/12 Gabriela Narutowicza Street, 80‑233 Gdańsk, Poland

Corresponding Author: Mattia Pierpaoli

mattia.pierpaoli@pg.edu.pl

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 17 (2025), Article Number: 311

Abstract

This study proposes a novel and sustainable method for fabricating 3D-printed carbon-based electrodes for electrochemical wastewater treatment. We prepared B,N-doped carbon electrodes with hierarchical porosity and a significantly enhanced surface area-to-volume ratio (up to 180%) compared to non-optimized analogues using a synergistic combination of 3D printing, phase inversion, and microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. This process allows the metal-free growth of vertically aligned carbon nanostructures directly onto polymer-derived substrates, resulting in a 20-fold increase in the electrochemically active surface area. Computational fluid dynamics simulations were used to improve mass transport and reduce pressure drop. Electrochemical characterization demonstrated that the optimized electrodes performed significantly better, achieving 4.7-, 4-, and 6.5-fold increases in the degradation rates of atenolol, metoprolol, and propranolol, respectively, during electrochemical oxidation. These results highlight the efficacy of the integrated fabrication and simulation approach in producing high-performance electrodes for sustainable wastewater treatment applications.


Highlights:
1 A novel approach combining 3D printing, phase inversion, and microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition is presented. This technique enables the creation of carbon-based electrodes with precise micro- and nanoscale control, offering potential for sustainable and high-performance wastewater treatment applications.
2 The synthesized 3D carbon scaffolds, enriched with B,N-doped carbon nanostructures, demonstrated superior performance in the electrochemical oxidation of β-blockers. Computational fluid dynamics simulations were used to optimize electrode design, leading to improved mass transport and reaction kinetics.
3 This research provides a sustainable and scalable solution for removing emerging contaminants from wastewater. The catalyst-free approach simplifies the fabrication process and reduces potential material contamination, making it a promising technology for advanced water treatment applications.

Keywords

Carbon nanowall Phase inversion Microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition Electrochemical oxidation Additive manufacturing
Kaczmarzyk, Iwona, Malgorzata Szopińska, Patryk Sokołowski, Simona Sabbatini, Gabriel Strugala, Jacek Ryl, Gianni Barucca, Per Falås, Robert Bogdanowicz, and Mattia Pierpaoli. 2025. “3D-Printed Boron-Nitrogen Doped Carbon Electrodes for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment via MPECVD”. Nano-Micro Letters 17 (June):311. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-025-01827-9.
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