Gas-phase flow-through photocatalysis using wirelessly anodized WO3 nanoporous layers on Tungsten 3D meshes produced by extrusion-based additive manufacturing

Abstract

Herein, hierarchically porous 3D W meshes were fabricated via extrusion-based additive manufacturing, using commercially pure W powder as feedstock. These mechanically robust structures exhibit high porosity and an effective surface area of approximately 60 cm2, making them highly promising for gas-phase photocatalysis. Wireless anodization via bipolar electrochemistry was successfully applied to form nanoporous WO3 layers on the 3D meshes, for the first time. These meshes were then employed for photocatalytic acetaldehyde degradation in a flow-through reactor designed according to ISO standards. Compared with thermally grown WO3 layers on identical 3D W meshes, the nanoporous WO3 layers showed superior performance due to their larger surface area, achieving -7% acetaldehyde conversion and a mineralization rate of -93%, indicating that nearly all removed acetaldehyde was fully mineralized. These findings highlight the potential of anodized 3D W meshes for innovative applications in flow-through photocatalytic reactors.