A Rechargeable Al–Te Battery

Abstract

Rechargeable aluminum based batteries attract particular attention due to their high anode capacity, safety, and cost advantage. Recently, high discharge voltage, ultrahigh rate performance, and long cycle life of aluminum ion batteries have been reported. However, the capacity of these Al-based batteries is limited, and it is of great value to explore novel cathodes with high reversible capacity that can rival a rechargeable lithium ion battery. In this work, we present the redox process of a tellurium electrode in a Lewis acidic AlCl3/[EMIm]Cl room temperature ionic liquid and disclose, for the first time, that the tellurium not only can be reduced to Te2– but also can be oxidized to TeCl3 +, and the whole process is reversible. Subsequently, we successfully construct a rechargeable Al–Te battery with an initial reversible capacity of ∼913 mAh/g, which is close to the theoretical capacity of tellurium of ∼1260.27 mAh/g and an obvious discharge voltage plateau at ∼1.5 V, already approaching that of a Li–Te battery (1.7 V). Significantly, this work brings a new way to reconsider the reaction mechanism and the theoretical capacities of chalcogen and its compounds as the cathode of the aluminum based batteries in room temperature chloroaluminate melts. For instance, the theoretical capacity of the sulfur is an unprecedented 5015.09 mAh/g when it undergoes a similar reversible redox process from S2– to SCl3 +.

MXenes@Te as a composite material for high-performance aluminum batteries

“…When Te is reduced to Te 2− , the potential is 0.65 V. When Te is oxidized to Te 2+ , Te 3+ , Te 4+ , and Te 6+ , the potentials are 1.36, 2.60, 1.56, and 2.57 V, respectively. The potential is 1.76 V when Te 2+ is oxidized to TeCl 3 + [24,25,57]. Therefore, we conclude that Te is oxidized to Te 2+ and Te 4+ during the charge process of 1.4-2.4 V. The high-valence Te 4+ is gradually reduced to Te in the discharge process of 2.4-0.01 V, and Te is reduced to Te 2− as the voltage decreases.…”

“…The charge/discharge specific capacity of each stage is closely related to the redox reactions of Te. However, because the valence state change behavior of Te is continuous during the charge/discharge processes, the division of the specific capacities in the above stages does not completely match the valence change behavior of Te [24]. Fig.…”

“…Fig. 5k provides the XPS spectrum of Te when the battery is directly discharged to 0.01 V. The peaks at 572.4 and 582.7 eV are those of Te 3d 3/2 and Te 3d 5/2 of Te 2− , respectively, and the peaks at 575.3 and 586.2 eV belong to Te 3d 3/2 and Te 3d 5/2 of Te 2+ [24], respectively, indicating that Te can be reduced to Te 2− at a low , (e) discharged to 1.2 V, (f) discharged to 0.9 V, (g) discharged to 0.3 V, (h) charged to 1.1 V, (i) charged to 1.5 V, (j) charged to 2.2 V, and (k) discharged to 0.01 V.…”

“…In recent years, aluminum-selenium batteries have also been extensively studied, which deliver excellent electrochemical performance and high discharge voltages of about 1.5 V [22,23]. Most recently, Jiao et al [24] constructed a rechargeable aluminum battery with an initial reversible capacity of 913 mA h g −1 , which showed excellent electrochemical performance. Subsequently, a tellurium (Te) nanowire positive electrode was prepared to construct a novel tellurium-aluminum battery, and it delivered an ultra-high discharge capacity of 1026 mA h g −1 at 0.5 A g −1 [25].…”

Metal‐Tellurium Batteries: A Rising Energy Storage System

“…It is worth noting that Te delivers lower gravimetric capacity (419 mAh g −1 ) than S (1672 mAh g −1 ) and Se (675 mAh g −1 ); this disadvantage can be overcome in volumetric capacity, which mainly results from its high density (2621 mAh cm −3 based on a density of 6.24 g cm −3 , compared with S 3416 mAh cm −3 and Se 3246 mAh cm −3 ). [ 9,15,19,20 ] Indeed, volumetric capacity is playing a more important role in practical application of batteries, resulting from the limited space in portable electronics. [ 15,21 ] Considering the aforementioned, Te can serve as a high‐performance electrode material in modern energy storage systems due to its high volumetric capacity and high electronic conductivity.…”