Fine Porous Structures Fabricated Using Laser Powder Bed Fusion of Ti–6Al–4 V

This study explores the capability of Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) to fabricate fine porous Ti–6Al–4V structures for electrochemical applications, specifically for Regenerative Fuel Cells electrodes. High porosity and high surface area are crucial characteristics to maximise electrochemical properties. Therefore, the focus of this study was to produce electrodes by utilising a pulsed wave LPBF system to fabricate thin walls with process-induced stochastic porosity by manipulating process parameters—i.e., duty cycle, laser power and scanning speed. Although the highest porosity was obtained from a duty cycle of 50%, laser power of 100 W and scanning speed of 1500 mm/s, the specimen lacked structural integrity. An increase in duty cycle to 87.5% improved the structural integrity of the thin wall and led to regularly spaced pores. The latter result is promising as it paves the way to controlling the formation and location of pores in LPBF-processed specimens. Overall, this study highlights the capability of LPBF in producing fine porous structures for electrochemical applications.