Flexible Tellurium-Based Electrode for High-Performance Lithium-Tellurium Battery

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Low-dimensional nanomaterials are crucial for advanced flexible energy storage devices.
• Existing materials often face challenges in balancing electrochemical performance with mechanical flexibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize uniform Tellurium nanotubes (Te NTs) for flexible energy storage applications.
• To fabricate a freestanding electrode using Te NTs and nanofibrillated celluloses (NFCs) without additional conductive agents or binders.
• To evaluate the electrochemical performance and mechanical flexibility of the fabricated Te-based electrode.

Main Methods:

• Hydrothermal synthesis of uniform Tellurium nanotubes (Te NTs).
• Fabrication of a flexible, freestanding electrode via vacuum filtration using Te NTs and NFCs.
• Electrochemical testing including capacity, cyclic stability, rate performance, and performance under mechanical bending.

Main Results:

• The Te-based electrode achieved a high volumetric capacity of 1512 mAh cm^-3 at 200 mA g^-1.
• Excellent cyclic stability was observed, with 104% capacity retention over 300 cycles.
• The electrode demonstrated remarkable rate performance (833 mAh cm^-3 at 1000 mA g^-1) and retained 93% capacity after 100 cycles post-bending.

Conclusions:

• The unique structure and conductivity of Te NTs contribute to superior electrochemical properties and flexibility.
• The developed Te-based electrode offers a promising solution for high-performance flexible lithium batteries.
• This work highlights the potential of Te NTs as active materials in next-generation flexible energy storage.