Molecular Precursor-Driven Synthesis of Copper Telluride Nanostructures for LIB Anode Application

Copper tellurides have garnered substantial interest for their applicability as an electrocatalyst for water splitting, battery anodes and photodetectors, etc. Moreover, synthesis of phase pure metal tellurides using the multi-source precursor method is challenging. Therefore, a facile synthesis protocol for copper tellurides is anticipated. The current study involves a simplistic single source molecular precursor pathway for the synthesis of orthorhombic-Cu_2.86Te₂ nano blocks and -Cu₃₁Te₂₄ faceted nanocrystals employing the [Cu{TeC₅H₃(Me-5)N}]₄ cluster in thermolysis and pyrolysis, respectively. The pristine nanostructures were carefully characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, electron microscopic techniques (scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy), and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy to know the crystal structure, phase purity, elemental composition, distribution of elements, morphology, and optical band gap. These measurements suggests that the reaction conditions fetch nanostructures of different sizes, crystal structures, morphologies, and band gaps. As prepared nanostructures were evaluated for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) anode material. The cells fabricated with orthorhombic Cu_2.86Te₂ and orthorhombic Cu₃₁Te₂₄ nanostructures deliver capacities of 68 and 118 mA h/g after 100 cycles. The LIB anode made up of Cu₃₁Te₂₄ faceted nanocrystals exhibited good cyclability and mechanical stability.