Alkaline anion exchange membranes (AAEMs) are an enabling component for next-generation electrochemical devices, including alkaline fuel cells, water and CO₂ electrolyzers, and flow batteries. While commercial systems, notably fuel cells, have traditionally relied on proton-exchange membranes, hydroxide-ion conducting AAEMs hold promise as a method to reduce cost-per-device by enabling the use of non-platinum group electrodes and cell components. AAEMs have undergone significant material development over the past two decades; however, challenges remain in the areas of durability, water management, high temperature performance, and selectivity. In this review, we survey crosslinking as a tool capable of tuning AAEM properties. While crosslinking implementations vary, they generally result in reduced water uptake and increased transport selectivity and alkaline stability. We survey synthetic methodologies for incorporating crosslinks during AAEM fabrication and highlight necessary precautions for each approach.

Architected materials offer promising advancements in energy storage by enabling highly customizable, high-surface-area, ordered, and low-defect porous structures. This study investigates the current distribution and mass transport within complex 3D-printed lattice electrodes under flow-through conditions. Conductive lattices were fabricated using microstereolithography followed by pyrolytic carbonization. Lattice geometry effects were analyzed by varying the unit cell type [simple cubic (SC), body- and face-centered cubic (BCC/FCC), IsoTruss, and Octet], porosity, and current density. Current distribution uniformity was investigated using a model high-efficiency copper deposition reaction. Local film thickness distributions were predicted using a numerical model and validated experimentally using micro-X-ray computed tomography. Scaling relationships for informing electrochemical reaction conditions and current uniformity are formulated as a modified lattice-based Wagner number (Wa _Lattice) and a corresponding inverse Damkohler number (Da _Lattice ^-1). Validated models reveal that mass-transfer coefficients scale as Octet > IsoTruss > FCC ∼ BCC > SC. Inertial effects become significant at Reynolds number Re > 3 and are particularly pronounced in Octet structures due to an abundance of struts oriented away from the fluid flow direction. The study underscores the importance of electrode engineering and process conditions necessary to tailor mass transport and current uniformities to various device applications.

The emergence of advanced manufacturing methods capable of producing porous three-dimensional structures has expanded the design space for next-generation functional components. The ability to fabricate ordered 3D foams for use in electrocatalysis reactors has increased the need for controlled deposition of catalytic metals onto porous support materials, such as carbon. However, there is a lack of clear design guidelines for electrodeposition onto 3D substrates, due to the geometric complexity and multi-scale nature of the problem. Furthermore, electro-nucleation phenomena are often overlooked in macro-scale models of current distribution during deposition. Here, a graphite flow-through electrode (FTE) is used as a model system for copper deposition within a single pore. Potential distributions and electro-nucleation phenomena are coupled in a continuum level model by incorporating nucleation size and density as a function of overpotential, determined experimentally using in situ atomic force microscopy (AFM). The model predictions are validated by measuring the coating uniformity in the pore using micro-computed X-ray tomography (μCT). A scaling analysis comprising dimensionless parameters such as the Wagner number is presented. The simplified scaling relationship framework can guide the electrodeposition process and electrode design to optimize plating of porous substrates under fluid flow conditions.