# Designing a cathode for electrolysis

**URL:** <https://forum.amybo.org/t/designing-a-cathode-for-electrolysis/65>\
**Category:** General\
**Created:** [19 April 2024 08:52 UTC](https://forum.amybo.org/t/designing-a-cathode-for-electrolysis/65 "2024-04-19T08:52:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![gerrit](https://forum.amybo.org/user_avatar/forum.amybo.org/gerrit/32/3_2.png) [@gerrit](https://forum.amybo.org/u/gerrit)\
**Post date:** [19 April 2024 08:52 UTC](https://forum.amybo.org/t/designing-a-cathode-for-electrolysis/65/1 "2024-04-19T08:52:44Z")

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This morning I was watching a video about they’re using 3D printing to increase the surface area of a scaffold for growing cells inside a bioreactor:

[![](https://forum.amybo.org/uploads/default/original/1X/1d4f803e7102489b38f72e4f311d87fb4f1a71c4.jpeg "3D Printed Bioreactors Enable Cell Growth | The Cool Parts Show Ep. 70") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmLvJ_Yxs9E)

It made me think about how we may like to increase the size of the biofilm when growing hydrogen-oxidizing bacteria, and how metal 3D printing has gotten a lot cheaper and more accessible over the years.

Why don’t we design a cathode with a large surface area? Using JLC’s 3D printing service we can [print in stainless steel](https://jlc3dp.com/help/catalog/89-Selective-Laser-Melting-(SLM)), which is exactly what we want, right? That should allow us to grow more bacteria, or at least more biofilm, in a small space.

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**Author:** ![Martin](https://forum.amybo.org/user_avatar/forum.amybo.org/martin/32/19_2.png) [@Martin](https://forum.amybo.org/u/Martin)\
**Post date:** [19 April 2024 12:50 UTC](https://forum.amybo.org/t/designing-a-cathode-for-electrolysis/65/2 "2024-04-19T12:50:19Z")

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Large surface area is good, but it needs to be a large surface area that we can easily harvest HOB from. No biofilm or a self detaching biofilm would likely be easiest.