Electroless copper plating of 3D-printed polymer foam: A promising method to fabricate electrodes for denitrification

Abstract

This work involves processing porous copper structures through electroless plating/metallization on 3D-printed polymer foam (PF) and exploiting them as electrode material for denitrification studies. A sustainable electroless plating process using KOH and H2SO4 for etching and copper seed crystals for surface activation is presented as an alternative to conventional chromic acid and palladium. This etching process increased average surface roughness (Ra) from 58.7 to 287 nm and amplification of hydrophilic functional groups. These modifications enhance the surface’s wettability by reducing the contact angle from 96.35 to 37.5°, thereby facilitating uniform deposition. After activation, Cu deposition was accomplished by immersing the foam in the bath. The resulting Cu-metallized polymer foams (Cu/PF) were investigated as electrodes for nitrate reduction, showing a sensitivity of 5.86 mA/mM within a nitrate concentration range of 2.5–10 mM, also demonstrated good stability in durability tests.